Living in Poverty is a Trauma
And it can lead to PTSD
Many people in the United States experience poverty, and it can lead to a host of problems, such as homelessness and trauma. A lifetime of poverty is stressful because people often experience food, job, and housing insecurity. When you live paycheck to paycheck, often you don’t know what is going to happen next on a daily basis.
According to the Borgen Project,
Living in poverty often means surviving daily in vulnerable conditions, and with financial instability that limits access to necessities such as food, shelter and water. The inability to pay for expenses starts to become emotionally and mentally taxing. Poverty acts as a traumatic experience in many people’s lives and even after graduating in class status, difficulty persists to enjoy day to day life.
Living with chronic stress over time can lead to PTSD. If you are homeless, that can become another trauma, because of the constant insecurity that you face.
The effects of these types of traumas can last for a lifetime, and it makes functioning in daily life difficult in many ways. PTSD can cause mood swings, panic attacks, poor concentration, and difficulty maintaining a job.
Although you can claim disability for PTSD, often you will need the assistance of a lawyer to do so, and that is something that many people living in poverty can’t afford. So, they will not even try to get the benefits that they are entitled to from the government. The bar is just set too high.
It is difficult to intervene and help break the cycle of systemic poverty and the trauma that it causes. The earlier that intervention is possible, the more able an induvial will be to recover.
Children in Poverty
Helping to break the cycle of systemic poverty, and helping children rise out of poverty can make a huge impact on their lives. This way, it can break the cycle of poverty that goes from one generation to the next.
When children are born into poverty, often, they will stay poor for their whole lives. This is because of the trauma they suffer, lack of proper education, and the inability to find a better job or move to a better neighborhood.
Many children are traumatized by living in poverty, and it can lead to a lifetime of living with PTSD symptoms that may be undiagnosed. Undiagnosed PTSD symptoms can make functioning in society difficult, but even more so when the problems stem from childhood.
Bringing awareness to these issues, and helping children rise out of poverty can help children throughout their lifetimes.
According to eLearning,
A student living in poverty will typically attend underfunded schools with fewer resources for students who are struggling or showing signs of learning disabilities.
They might also have trouble getting their homework done, due to a lack of resources at home, or a safe, quiet place to study. Their parents or guardians are likely to have less time for school events and for helping with homework. All of these factors can affect a student’s ability to be academically successful, attend college, and pursue their preferred career path. This has a domino effect across generations.
Helping children succeed in school has not only to do with helping them academically but with helping their mental healthcare as well. By improving the effects of poverty on mental health in childhood, these children will be better equipped in adulthood to deal with their mental health concerns.
This is why having child psychologists and school counselors in low-income schools is critical. They can provide additional services to students living in poverty outside the classroom, and help to mitigate the trauma that these students are facing on a daily basis.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness,
School-based mental health services are delivered by trained mental health professionals who are employed by schools, such as school psychologists, school counselors, school social workers, and school nurses. By removing barriers such as transportation, scheduling conflicts and stigma, school-based mental health services can help students access needed services during the school-day.
Making school-based mental healthcare services more available for students is critical for their mental health, their learning, their wellbeing and their future.
If we can invest more in providing these services at the school level, then fewer students will have to struggle alone without the mental health services that they need.
Early interventions are more successful than interventions with adults. If we can help kids with their mental health needs while they are young, they will be better able to heal, and live a productive and happy lifetime, than if they don’t get mental health services until they are adults.
If you are experiencing mental health issues yourself, finding a good therapist or coach can be so helpful.
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