Behind those infamous Instagram posts, there is a high rate of financial difficulties among younger generations. Whether we are buying groceries, paying rent, paying for college, or just trying to live our lives, millennials are broke. And, incidentally have a higher rate of depression and anxiety within them.
Not only is it hard living on our expensive economy, it is draining to have to be able to afford to live a stable lifestyle. As a college student your main priority is to focus on school. School is already stressful enough without adding work and how you are going to pay for everything on top of that.
Psychiatrists have said, and proven, that people who cannot afford to maintain to live a normal or stable lifestyle or who live in impoverished areas, fall into the vicious cycle of working, trying to avoid debt, and falling short. This then leads to people feeling overwhelmed, worried, and potentially a mental illness.
Once this happens, it is hard to keep on trying and finding the energy to keep working. All of this can spiral down to a low place for some people, making them shy away from everything, including finances.
Even if you aren’t living in poverty, you can still feel the effects financial strain can have on your mental health. If you’re less than well-off, you might also be working long hours to make as much as you can, and focusing all your energy on work, leaving no time for things you’d do for fun. And that would make an impact on anyone’s mental health. Additionally, being unemployed or losing a job and not knowing what’s next can be brutal, too
Honestly, there is really no solution to helping this problem. But, if we start now, by stepping back, taking a breathe, and asking for help, we may just be able to hold on for a little longer. And while this won’t fix everything, acknowledging it, is a start.
Sources:
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2005/03/low-ses.aspx
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15709846
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-9-302