With January now underway, many view it as a fresh start or a period of change. It’s a month when one begins the process of creating new resolutions or vision boards to serve as a direction for the new year. This focus on change fails to take into consideration how not everyone can adopt this mindset when experiencing poverty or financial difficulties. Such a point is important to emphasize when noting how January is National Poverty in America Awareness Month to shed light on how poverty can have a great effect on one’s life, especially their mental health.
From the U.S. Census Bureau’s Poverty in the United States: 2024 Report, the official poverty rate was 10.6 percent, translating to about 35.9 million people living in poverty (Shrider & Bijou, 2025, p. 1). This key statistic is crucial to emphasize when seeking clarity on the number of people who experience financial insecurity on a daily basis. It’s concerning to think that 35.9 million people are under stress to find ways to make ends meet for themselves and their families. Such a staggering statistic is not widely known in society to a great degree. Not many take time to contextualize how living in a state of poverty can pose great harm, not only from a physical standpoint but also mentally.
To put this into perspective, living in poverty is known to have physical effects pertaining to not having access to a nutritious diet, often known as a poverty diet. It’s typically defined as a diet that is high in sugar, fat, and salt. There are limited options for fruits or vegetables, with protein being provided by cheaper or leaner cuts of meat. Such a diet can result in the loss of essential nutrients, including vitamin B12, which can lead to symptoms of fatigue, depression, irritability, and poor sleep quality. Another example includes vitamin B6, which can lead to symptoms of rash, anxiety, depression, and fatigue (Daily & Yuen, 2025, pp. 2-4). These examples of vitamin deficiencies aren’t exhaustive but serve as a reference for understanding the physical and mental effects of poverty.
With this being said, it’s important to further understand the correlation concerning poverty and mental health. Poverty-related stress is a debilitating type of stress from prolonged exposure to physical, emotional, and psychological strain from financial hardships. This type of stress is prone to occur thanks to three key triggers: noise disturbance, home dysfunction, and financial distress. For noise disturbance, it’s the feeling of constantly being stressed by loud noise, whether from a crowded house to construction, or traffic noise outside. Such an environment disrupts sleep and the ability to concentrate, which causes irritability and exhaustion. Meanwhile, home dysfunction encompasses poor social relationships within one’s family, threats to physical safety, housing insecurity, or inadequate housing resources. This sense of dysfunction can be present in the form of eviction notices, unsafe housing, and fears of homelessness that can contribute to family conflicts. In contrast, financial distress is characterized by consistent feelings of distress over paying bills to the point of sacrificing goals/dreams to make ends meet. Fears of job loss, accidents, or illness can contribute to feelings of being financial overwhelmed (Allen et al., 2023, as cited in van Zyl, 2023, pp. 2-3).
These key triggers are important to highlight when seeing how poverty can have a great influence on one’s overall mental health. Living in poverty can impact one on a deeper level than many may anticipate. This being said, such stress increases the likelihood of developing severe mental health problems that can not only impact one but also families for generations. Poverty can increase physical, emotional, and financial strain from exposure to unsafe living conditions or severe financial hardships. Thus, there is an increase in anxiety, depression, and overall despair, making it harder for one to feel hopeful (van Zyl, 2023, pp. 1-2). Information about nature is crucial when considering how living in poverty can take a toll on one’s life, highlighting the need to find a means of solution. This is easier said than done, but there’s a need to help those in poverty find some relief for their overall health, especially mental health.
So, there can be greater focus on implementing initiatives to alleviate poverty-related stressors. Such initiatives include noise reduction, housing adequacy policies, financial relief programs, and coping skills treatment to alleviate toxic stress. There needs to be consistent commitment across various social and economic sectors to minimize overall hardship/mental health decline (van Zyl, 2023, pp. 4-5). Effective change is easier said than done, but it is something that needs to be a concern when taking steps toward combating poverty. A collective yet consistent effort to partake in such initiatives mentioned can make all the difference over time. Those living in poverty can greatly benefit from these initiatives and support, knowing they aren’t alone when experiencing a difficult time or hardship in life.
Furthermore, those living in poverty can experience negative effects on their mental health to a great degree. More can be done to aid individuals as they navigate challenging times in their lives through impactful initiatives and support. Such support can make all the difference, especially from a mental health standpoint.
~Lauren Montoya
Lauren Montoya is a Southern California native with a background in sociology and liberal studies. She hopes to become a licensed mental health clinician in the future. Lauren is passionate about animal welfare, mental health, and the arts.
References
Allen, B., Klibert, J., & van Zyl, L. E. (2023). The Poverty-Related Stress Scale: Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Measure Assessing Poverty-Related Stressors. Depression and Anxiety, 2023(1), 1-25.
Daily, R. S., & Yuen, E. Y. (2025, February 23). Poverty and Mental Health. Psychology Today.
Shrider, E. A., & Bijou, C. (2025, August 13). Poverty in the United States: 2024. Census.gov.
US Census Bureau. (2025, August 13). Poverty in the United States: 2024. Census.gov.
van Zyl, L. E. (2023, November 23). The Three Faces of Poverty-Related Stress. Psychology Today.