How Growing Up Poor Affects Your Mental Health?

The experience of growing up poor leaves a lasting impression on a person’s mindset, relationships, and approach to life. Poverty often means living with limited resources, making tough choices, and learning to adapt to challenging circumstances. These experiences shape how individuals view money, success, and opportunity. While some develop resilience and resourcefulness, others may struggle with self-doubt and insecurity long into adulthood.

From childhood homes to the stark contrasts observed in wealthier peers, poverty builds mental frameworks that influence every aspect of life. Let’s explore how growing up with financial hardship affects people, both in their early years and later in life.

The Early Struggles of Growing Up Poor

For families facing poverty, making ends meet requires constant effort. Parents often work long hours or take odd jobs just to put food on the table. Homes in these situations are frequently modest, sometimes run-down, and lack the amenities more affluent households take for granted.

Image by EyeEm on freepik | Growing up poor means facing daily struggles for survival.

For instance, a family living in a small trailer or a drafty house may see basic tasks like heating the home or preparing meals as challenges. These struggles are not unique to one generation; they often stem from a cycle of poverty that has persisted for decades. Many families pass down resourcefulness as a survival strategy, with children growing up watching their parents fix broken items, grow their own food, or craft solutions to save money.

Such circumstances lead children to develop an acute awareness of financial limitations. Even at a young age, they often notice the differences between their lives and those of others. When compared to wealthier friends or families, this awareness can foster feelings of inadequacy or even shame.

Family Resourcefulness: A Common Theme

In many poor families, resourcefulness becomes a way of life. Parents often go to extraordinary lengths to save money or make do with what they have. For example, some may repair household items themselves or find unconventional solutions to problems. One story tells of a father drilling holes in coins to create washers because store-bought ones seemed too expensive.

This mindset teaches children to innovate and think creatively. However, it also reinforces a scarcity mentality, where they may grow up constantly fearing that resources will run out. While this perspective can instill resilience, it may also contribute to long-term struggles with financial confidence and decision-making.

Poverty Across Generations

For many families, poverty doesn’t stop with one generation. Grandparents who lived simply and struggled to get by often pass on their habits and challenges to their children and grandchildren. While they might appear well-adjusted to their circumstances, living modestly and valuing small luxuries like homemade cookies, their financial struggles have a trickle-down effect.

These inherited behaviors can lead to a strong work ethic and appreciation for life’s simpler pleasures. However, they can also make upward mobility difficult, as families may lack the resources or knowledge to break free from the cycle of poverty.

Comparing Lives: Poor vs. Wealthier Peers

A defining moment for many children growing up poor is the realization that not everyone lives the same way. This usually happens when they visit wealthier friends’ homes or see others enjoying privileges they don’t have.

For example, while a child from a poor family may grow up in a small, cluttered home, their wealthier peers might live in spacious, well-furnished houses. These kids often see their friends wearing better clothes, eating at restaurants, or celebrating birthdays with lavish parties. For the poorer child, these moments are both eye-opening and humbling.

As children grow older, these differences become more pronounced. In high school, wealthier peers might have access to cars, new technology, or extracurricular activities that cost money, while poorer students often feel out of place. This divide often shapes the confidence and self-perception of kids from poorer backgrounds, making them feel inferior or less deserving.

How Poverty Influences Behavior and Confidence

Children from poor families often grow up with a heightened sense of caution and timidity. They learn to follow rules strictly, ask for little, and avoid taking risks because they fear the consequences of failure. By contrast, wealthier kids, who often have a safety net, tend to act more confidently and take risks more freely.

This confidence gap becomes more evident during adulthood. Those who grew up poor may hesitate to pursue big opportunities or negotiate for better salaries because they’re accustomed to “settling.” Meanwhile, those from wealthier backgrounds often approach life with a mindset that assumes abundance and possibility.

Higher Education Is a Path to Escape

For many individuals growing up poor, education offers the best opportunity to change their circumstances. Academic scholarships, grants, and part-time jobs often provide the means to attend college. However, even this path comes with challenges.

Instagram | atlascompany | Education helps escape poverty but demands resilience.

Wealthier students often enter college with fewer financial worries, allowing them to focus on academics and extracurricular activities. They have the advantage of family support, whether through financial contributions or connections in the professional world. On the other hand, students from poor backgrounds typically work multiple jobs, juggle financial responsibilities, and navigate the system on their own.

This disparity shapes the college experience and adds additional stress for students from poor families. While their wealthier peers build networks and gain confidence, they often feel isolated, out of place, or overwhelmed by the expectations placed on them.

The Emotional Impact of Growing Up Poor

Poverty doesn’t just affect a person’s financial standing—it has a deep emotional impact as well. Many adults who grew up poor describe feeling undeserving of success or guilty when they achieve more than their parents did. These emotions often stem from years of living in survival mode, where every decision revolved around scarcity.

For example, some individuals, even after achieving financial stability, struggle to enjoy their accomplishments. They may feel like impostors in wealthier settings or fear that their success could vanish at any moment. This mindset, known as the “scarcity mentality,” can hold people back even when they have the resources to thrive.

Wealth and Self-Worth

One of the most profound lessons poverty teaches is how deeply wealth and self-worth are intertwined. Children who grow up poor often equate material possessions with personal value. They may assume that wealthier individuals are more deserving or capable, which creates a sense of inferiority that persists into adulthood.

This belief can lead to decisions driven by fear rather than ambition. For instance, adults who grew up poor might prioritize short-term gratification, such as buying non-essential items, because they’re afraid the opportunity won’t come again. Alternatively, they may avoid taking risks like investing or pursuing entrepreneurial ventures because they lack confidence in their abilities.

Breaking the Cycle

Breaking the cycle of poverty isn’t just about earning more money—it’s about changing the mindset that comes with it. For many individuals, this means addressing the emotional baggage of growing up poor and learning to view wealth differently.

1. Financial Education: Learning to budget, save, and invest is crucial for building long-term stability.

2. Building Confidence: Understanding that wealth doesn’t determine self-worth helps people overcome feelings of inadequacy.

3. Taking Risks: Developing a growth mindset encourages individuals to pursue opportunities without fear of failure.

While these steps require effort and time, they provide a pathway toward financial independence and emotional freedom.

Lessons From Poverty

Growing up poor teaches many valuable lessons. It builds resilience, creativity, and an appreciation for the little things in life. However, it also instills challenges, such as self-doubt, scarcity-driven thinking, and a reluctance to take risks.

By understanding the ways poverty shapes mindsets, individuals can work to overcome its limitations while retaining the strengths it fosters. Whether through education, financial planning, or shifting perspectives, it’s possible to break free from the mental and emotional constraints of growing up poor.