The Socioeconomic Determinants of Mental Health

As a mental health professional, one of the most common predictors of mental health and wellness that I see in my practice is having an adequate level of social and financial capital, but what does that mean?

Let's start with financial capital. Financial capital is the ability to earn, save, invest, and afford a reasonable quality of life. Financial capital is dramatically affected by fixed costs. Fixed costs are the things (commodities) that people must have to survive in their particular culture. I live in a rural community in Canada, so I need to have shelter, heat, water, food, fuel, clothing, wi-fi (yes wi-fi), and transportation.

Of course we can add more necessities to the list but the point I want to make is: when fixed costs go up relative to fixed income then budgeting becomes increasingly difficult.

People simply cannot spread their net income across all of the necessities of life and this results in a state of being in "survival mode." In survival mode their is no buffer and no safety net which produces a state of anxiety, panic, worry, and chronic stress. This in turn affects sleep, diet, social interactions, self esteem, and hope.

Let's turn to social capital. Social capital is having access to family, friends, clubs and groups, leisure centers, libraries, and social gatherings in general.

When a lack of social capital combines with a lack of financial capital, the result is often mental illness, especially if both forms of capital are drained over a prolonged term.

Even in writing this post, I sense that people will see these problems as inherently unsolvable on the basis that different people get dealt different cards and sometimes people make poor choices. Of course, both of those statements are true but they are scapegoats or red-herrings that avoid the main problem.

The main problem is society has stopped caring and political institutions perpetuate condtions that make the problem worse for a large segment of society including the so called "middle class."

The downstream mental health effects of impossible housing costs, wage stagnation, unaffordable education, unjust laws, government overspending, and decline in public education are all to blame.

People who historically have felt safe, secure, productive, and hopeful now feel hopeless, defeated, angry, and bewildered.

Guess who the most vulnerable of these people are?

Youth and Seniors.

In effect, I am saying that unless we as a society demand that the conditions are suitable for living and making "good choices" we will have legions of hopeless who will numb and avoid reality at all costs because reality is depressing and the game is rigged.

Stepping up to the plate to address these problems starts with first recognzing that mental health and socioeconomic determinants are correlated. Second, it requires a concerted national effort at the federal and municipal levels to build adequate affordable housing, lower cost of living, provide access to education, and ensure that no one is allowed to go hungry and unhoused.

There are solutions, and they do not cost that much compared to the capital that is wasted on matters that do not relate to human dignity. All human beings are entitled to the opportunity to create a productive, satisfying life instead of having to tread water just to keep from drowning.

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