Poverty is the state of not having enough to help an individual to cater for everyday needs. In most cases it is as a result of not having enough money to buy or own sufficient basic needs which include housing, clothing, and food. Some other needs which are also very crucial might also be difficult to meet, and they include education and good healthcare. This causes many effects that an individual to go through but the main one is on the psychological effect
Poor people are looked down upon by those who are considered rich in the society. This is because they feel like they do not belong to the elite social class that is considered to be more learned and also have more assets and money. They feel left out when it comes to matters concerning the society because many do not consider their view as important as the opinions which rich people may have even if it does not make sense. They also lack the feeling of self-importance and self-worth because most people in the society especially the rich always look down upon them as well as degrading them.
Poor people have high levels of stress especially those who have large families to support. If the bread winner does not have a reliable source of income or a stable job, it is difficult to provide for their families the basic needs including nice food and decent clothing and this leads to a poor state of nutrition. With the lack of this basic needs, it is very easy for one to be stressed up. Similarly, if one is poor, some unforeseen circumstances may strike and with a lack of enough monetary capabilities it is tough to handle them. This might come in the form of a sick member of the family. If one falls ill, lack of money or assets to sell in order to acquire the rightful effective treatment that may be needed in order to sustain their life or put it into a better bearable condition may lead to a person becoming stressed up as a result of being poor. Being stressed up will as well make people wish to use drugs in order to help them forget their stresses. In so doing they may start abusing drugs and sometimes taking drugs that are prohibited for example bang. With abuse of these drugs, they may suffer from mental illness brought about by abuse of such drugs. This then circulates back to the fact that they were poor in the first place, and it eventually led to the abuse of drugs. The stress originating from the state of poverty may lead to a person lacking sleep which is a strong sign of one being stressed up (Smith, 2010).
Poverty also leads to poor decision making. For example, one may decide to indulge in criminal activities to make an extra cent. These activities can include robbery, theft, cybercrime and even killing someone in order to acquire what they owned. This might, in the end, lead to people losing their lives in instances such as shoot out with the police. It can also lead to a person being imprisoned in order to pay for the crimes they committed. In some instances, people can try to do things that are sometimes not considered right. This may include one trying out activities such as prostitution. As much as it might help one earn some more money out of it, with time, it might weigh too much on their conscience which may lead them to making even worse decisions such as taking their own lives. For those who are still in school, poverty may lead to poor decision making in class as they are more concerned with what will happen in the near future. It also affects their grades as much of their concentration is taken by the condition of poverty (Carr, 2013). It also affects those at work for example; one may make a poor decision such as stealing assets of the company in order to make ends meet.
Poor people feel neglected. For instance, it is not often the case that poor people are given very significant roles in the society such as leadership qualities. This is because many people always feel like such positions for leadership are not for the less fortunate in this case being those who are poor. This is more ironical as many of the people who would rather not put the one considered to be poor in the state of power are as well poor if not in a worse state of poverty.
Poor people feel insecure. This insecurity eats up the mind as the poor person does not know what the future holds for them. In most cases, the feeling of insecurity is manifested in the state where they do not know what they will have for food, what they will put on, if the living quarters are decent and adequate for them. Also, they do not know what might happen if they fall sick yet they do not have a penny for medical attention as most of the little income they have is centered on making sure they get enough food to eat or as it would be to sustain them to the future.
It is also considered that the children who come from humble backgrounds more often than not experience slow development compared to those who come from well to do families. This might be becomes of the hardship conditions that these children go through which include lack of enough and appropriate nutrition that comes in a balanced diet, stress related situations such as observing their parents fight over matters in the house which most likely are issues to do with the upbringing of those children. The high poverty levels experienced by such children also lead to the young people having difficulties in development and also problems associated with learning and schooling activities. It also results to them having a rough time when it comes to their intellectual capabilities as they become locked up in the mentality that they are supposed to live a poor life. It also makes them give up in life and also give up on their dreams as they do not know how they will end up achieving their goals and ambitions in life. The lack of proper mentors in form of parents makes matters worse for such children as they do not have someone to relate with who has made it big in life.
Poverty may make a person living under the poverty line lack some of the basic fundamental behavior that makes us human. The most renown one is that those who are poor lack efficient social skills. People who are poor may not have the language that may be required to make a conversation with a wealthy stranger. This is because from their background they did not have the opportunities that the wealthy had in their lives to socialize with other people. They also do not have the proper language that is considered appropriate for such events. Most of the people who are poor also do not have the best of memory working level that a similar person who is rich may have. This is because the problems that these two type of people face in their everyday life are not the same. While a rich person may be thinking about how to expand their business, a poor person may only be thinking about how they will get their next meal. In such a case, it is evident that the thinking capability of a poor person is limited (Carr & Sloan, 2003).
Getting money from banks through loans is an uphill task to the poor. This is because they lack enough assets to offer as collateral in forms of houses and pieces of land. If they are able to get the money they need and are not able to pay the loan on time, then they might end up losing their assets. Similarly, they also accrue debts at an awfully high rate which they might not be able to pay on time. This then affects their state of mind because they are not sure on how they are to repay the loans.
Psychological effects are therefore one of the most devastating effects of poverty. Poverty in itself should be addressed fully by governments to lessen the effects it has on the poor people. Such people should also find appropriate help in order to help them combat the situation that they find themselves. This can include advice from people and keeping a sober mind to make a good decision.
References
Carr, S. (2013). Anti-Poverty Psychology. New York: Springer.
Carr, S. & Sloan, T. (2003). Poverty and Psychology: From Global Perspective to Local. New York: Springer.
Smith, L. (2010). Psychology, Poverty, and the End of Social Exclusion. New York City: Teachers College Press.
