Poverty can affect every part of your life—where you live, how you sleep, how often you can bathe, what food you can afford, how you get to work, and even whether you can see a doctor when you’re sick. Stress and uncertainty become a daily burden for many struggling financially, making it harder to cope with life’s challenges. When poverty limits access to healthcare, mental health support, and affordable individual therapy, some might turn to alcohol or drugs to escape or manage pain.
At Waypoint Recovery Center in Cameron, South Carolina, people coping with these struggles can find hope in a structured, supportive environment that helps them heal and rebuild their lives through residential treatment for substance use disorder (SUD). Even if funds are a problem, we can work with you to explore financing options and navigate healthcare coverage questions. If you or someone you know is battling SUD in impoverished conditions, Waypoint can offer support and guidance when you contact us.
What is Poverty?
The U.S. government defines poverty based on income, but real-life financial struggles often go beyond a simple number. Poverty isn’t just about a lack of money—it’s about the challenges that come with having few resources. People living below the poverty line often deal with food insecurity, unstable or unsafe housing, a lack of medical care, and stigma. In 2020, studies showed that a growing percentage of Americans, over 37 million people, lived in poverty, placing basic needs like housing, food, and healthcare increasingly out of reach.
Today, people that you may know could be facing poverty and, by extension, the following hardships:
- Limited access to fresh, nutritious food as well as kind, caring doctors.
- Constant financial stress and the heavy anxiety that comes with it.
- Fewer educational and job opportunities.
- Higher risks of prolonged health problems, including SUD.
How Poverty Affects Mental Health
While not always immediately visible to onlookers, people in poverty commonly struggle with mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, or SUD. You might work with someone who’s barely making ends meet and never realize the stress they’re under. Many people (even those who don’t live in poverty) can’t afford therapy or medication, and even if they can, the stigma around mental health might keep them from seeking help.
If this is the case for many adults in poverty conditions, imagine how much more impactful poverty can be for kids. Research shows that kids who grow up in poverty also have a greater chance of developing depression, social anxiety disorders, and SUD later in life.
Social factors that can worsen mental health struggles for both adults and children might include:
- Living in neighborhoods with high crime and limited resources.
- Struggling to find stable work or reliable transportation.
- Facing discrimination or feeling isolated from support systems.
- Dealing with stigma when asking for help.
- Having less access to extracurricular activities like sporting clubs, art classes, or mentorship opportunities.
What Is Self-Medication?
When people face extreme physical or emotional pain, looking for any method of easing that pain can be a common response. Cue self-medication, which happens when someone uses alcohol, opioids, behaviors, or other substances to cope with stress, anxiety, or chronic pain instead of getting medical treatment. Here are some other situations that might be conducive to self-medication scenarios, regardless of poverty’s presence:
- Mental health care that’s too expensive or located too far away.
- Financial stress that can lead to chronic anxiety, insomnia, or illness.
- Jobs with dangerous work environments or those involving intense physical labor, causing chronic pain that might go untreated.
- Social or cultural environments that normalize coping with substances.
For people in poverty who don’t have easy access to doctors or therapists, substances may feel like the only option. However, relying on drugs or alcohol to get through the day’s trials runs the risk of developing destructive substance dependence. Sometimes, self-medication can even snowball into a full-blown disorder, potentially leading to expensive and life-threatening health complications that can have negative familial and generational impacts.
Fight Poverty and Find Recovery in South Carolina
Many people have overcome the struggle of poverty and SUD through treatment, education, and support programs that help them get back on their feet. At Waypoint Recovery Center’s intensive outpatient program (IOP) in North Charleston, people receive the guidance and structure they need to start fresh. With the right support, healing can happen.
If you or someone you love is struggling with substance use and financial hardship, don’t wait to ask for help. Waypoint Recovery Center offers a safe place to begin the journey to recovery. Reach out today. You and your loved ones deserve a better future no matter what your socioeconomic background looks like.
