Pop Life

The Psychology of Poverty

“Pop Life” from the album Around the World In A Day (1985)

“What's the matter with your life
Is the poverty bringing U down'
Is the mailman jerking U 'round'
Did he put your million dollar check
In someone else's box'”

We often beat ourselves up for not living up to expectations that we or someone else has placed on us. While having expectations is a healthy and normal part of life they can become problematic if they are unrealistic. Our socioeconomic context has as much affect on our behavior as our genes do. The age old debate between nature and nurture plays a part here, we sometimes forget that nature includes our living conditions.

“Is poverty bringing U down?” For anyone who has been poor the answer to that is an emphatic YES! The stress of not having enough money to pay your bills, not being able to give your kids the best, the constant financial uncertainty, etc. has the potential to degrade your quality of life. Picture yourself after an all-nighter, being poor is like that every day (Mullainathan & Shafir, 2014). We know the affects of sleep deprivation, degraded cognitive functioning, decreased IQ, anxiousness, chronic health problems, depression, decreased sexual desire and increases the risk of death ( Moorcraft, 2013). Add on top of that the social stigmatization that “You are lazy” or “Choose to be poor” or are a criminal then we can see the massive psychological duress that the poor endure.

The overwhelmingly majority of poor people do not want to be poor and they have the expectation to get out of that situation. That is all well and good but often the way they expect to get out of their situation is flawed. The lines, “Did he put your million dollar check in someone else's box” references that. Sometimes we expect our lives to get better without the effort. We expect God to answer our prayers and rescue us from our current situation, expect to win the lottery or make it big with a get rich quick scheme, etc. I don't want to over simplify the complex nature of poverty but I do want to point out that expectation is a huge key to get out of poverty. If you expect to go to school or learn a trade that will pay a liveable wage so that you can get out of poverty that is a healthy expectation (granted it doesn't always work out that way) however if you want someone else to do it for you that is not a healthy expectation.

If you are poor and are feeling depressed or stressed out that is normal. The poor should not feel like something is wrong with them if they are feeling down, they are having a natural response to their living situation. Seeking counseling and improving their support system are steps that can be taken to improve anyone's quality of life. Prince sings that, “Everybody needs a thrill.” This is true, finding things in your life that make you happy and make you feel good about yourself is tantamount to improving how you view your world. Poverty is a daily trauma that the poor endure the fact that they continue on is a testament to their fortitude. We as a society should be expected to know the psychological pain that poverty brings and do what we can to help alleviate that strain on our fellow human beings.

References

     Mullainathan, S. & Shafir, E. (2014). Scarcity: The New Science of Having Less and How It               Defines Our Lives. New York: Times Books 

              Moorcroft, W. H. (2013). Understanding Sleep and Dreaming. New York: Springer.