How your finances influence your family's mental health

Finances highly influence people’s lifestyle.

We need money to get basic needs and in Kenya, 39% of the population is unemployed, which means a lot of people is financially unstable.

Lack of financial stability increases the stress levels and in some cases, lead people to consume and abuse drugs. Those with no jobs suffer more depression than those employed. They can develop violent behaviors at home creating family conflicts and domestic violence, affecting people around them.

It is very common to find stress, depression, anxiety and violence in families where finances are not well handled. Such situations lead to an increase in arguments and fights at home, provoking more stress, which can develop depression and therefore, mental health problems.

Unemployed people tend to  lack self-confidence, especially if they at some point  lost their jobs. They may feel attached to material things they can’t afford anymore and they lose their social class. That makes them doubt their self-worth something that could make them develop a harmful behavior that could damage them physically and mentally.

Being open and talking about your financial issues is one of the ways to overcome self-esteem problems. Having an organized family where everyone knows and plans their responsibilities will avoid financial issues too. Teaching young people to save money instead to spending it all, will help them develop better money management sense and responsibility.

By Grace Kinuthia psychologist.

For more information contact us on 0711188300 or 0738669535

@jitunze_ke or ke_mental