Does Wealth affect Mental Health?

There are so many factors that can influence one’s mental health and wealth definitely has to play a role in it. Mental health in India comes with several barriers like unawareness, stigma, lack of access, etc. Additionally, wealth as a factor can not only affect mental wellbeing but also play a role in being able to access the services that cater to effective mental health care.

The link between wealth and mental health is very cyclical in nature. People coming from lower socio-economic classes tend to suffer from high psychological distress as variables like poverty, lack of proper shelter, food and basic necessities act as psychological stressors that can damage their wellbeing. Now, inaccessible mental health services can again affect the person’s interpersonal and professional relationship making the individual quite hopeless and helpless that could lead him/her to lose their job or work. This becomes a difficult loop for the person to exit as poverty increases mental illness and mental illness again leads to poverty. So, just as wealth affects mental health, mental health also affects wealth subsequently.

Research indicates that older adults who had no source of income and had not been working for more than a year with low activities of daily living were facing high psychological distress in India.

Especially amidst Covid- 19, millions of people have lost their jobs and faced a brutal wave of unemployment. Losing a job can be very traumatic and can lead to intense worry. With so many people staying unemployed, nations are likely to struggle from serious mental health problems. During the past year, the loss of job has impacted many and thus has caused a steep increase in people suffering from stress, financial anxiety, depression, having trouble in relationship, suicidal thoughts etc. Thus, the need for mental health counselling has increased.

While the presence or absence of wealth affects a person’s mental health through associated difficulties and problems. Similarly, access to quality mental health care at times gets dependant and affected by wealth. With the increase in the requirement of mental health counselling, there always remain a question about accessing quality and affordable mental health care facility. Therefore, it is important that with the changing financial picture across the globe, essential health care services like mental health counselling also becomes affordable. And, thus during such testing times online counselling platforms provide for – (a) wide range accessibility (connecting with the best therapists); and (b) affordable online counselling services.

Understanding the fast moving requirement and need of the hour, online counselling platform like TalktoAngel provides its users in India or around the globe affordable, confidential online counselling services through its self-curated HIPPA compliant platform. Their team of best therapists from India help one receive comfortable online therapy at the luxury of their comfort place. Online counselling at TalktoAngel could range from INR 450 to INR 4000, thus giving every user a wide range of monetary option to choose from thereby making therapy comfortable affordable and most importantly making accessible for ALL.