Mental health isn’t just a stigma. It is very real and has an enormous impact on one’s life. Mental health not only deals with our emotions but it also affects our psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we act, feel, and think. While dealing with mental illnesses is stressful, living in poverty while dealing with mental disorders makes it harder to live a healthy everyday life.
Fauquier has a population of 67,463 with a 6% poverty rate. Fauquier is named as one of Virginia’s richest counties due to the fact the median household income in Fauquier is more than $91,200. However, around 1,500 homes make less than $23,000 per year which is why as many as 4,048 Fauquierians fall under the poverty line.
Poverty can be caused by many factors. These factors include unemployment, divorce, natural disaster, lack of education, and mental health issues. One out of four Virginians suffer from some kind of mental illness. People with mental disorders are at much higher risk of falling into poverty than other people . These people may not be able to work because of their illness. Poverty also exposes people to risk factors for developing or worsening mental disorders.
Depression and anxiety are among the most common mental illnesses. Depression is a medical illness involving an imbalance of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters and neuropeptides. There are many different types of depression, but the most commonly diagnosed form of depression is called major depression disorder. Depression often coexists with other medical problems/mental illnesses. Conditions that may be worsened by depression include substance use, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and Parkinson's disease.
People suffering from depression experience a lasting or continuously depressed state of mind that interferes with the ability to function, feel happiness, and even maintain interest in life. People suffering from major depressive episodes may feel so fatigued that they cannot go to work, school, or even do the simple things we take for granted. They may sleep day and night, have problems concentrating, and feel so deeply sad and guilty. Depression is a constant battle within one’s self.
We as humans have always had an automatic response to threatening events or situations which prepares us to fight the threat or run away from it. In people with depression, bipolar disorder and/or anxiety disorders, the fight or flight response may be triggered more often and for longer periods of time than in people without these illnesses. Anxiety interferes with people’s lives by making it difficult to concentrate, making them restless, intensifying fears and/or thoughts, and causes rapid heartbeats.
Anxiety and depression often leads to suicide or self harming. One of the most important reasons for higher morbidity and mortality rates among people with mental disorders is the inequitable care and treatment that these individuals receive for both mental and physical illnesses. A recent report shows that Fauquier has far fewer mental health providers than the statewide, per-capita average.
However, in late October the Fauquier Free Clinic and Mental Health Association launched a “telehealth” program. Up until then Fauquier was seriously lacking mental health programs. Before telehealth, it was really hard for doctors at the Free Clinic to consults when dealing with patients that have mental disorders. Sallie Morgan, Fauquier Mental Health Association Executive Director, says the program is creating a connection with patients that they haven’t seen before. The program provides fast, convenient and free access to a range of services. The PATH Foundation granted $370,000 and the free clinic contracted with Amwell, a national company that remotely connects patients with psychologists, psychiatrists and other certified professionals from across Virginia. The grant from the PATH Foundation will cover patient costs, and allow them to get the care they need. Patients can directly seek help for mental health but, all patients at the clinic are screened for depression because behavioral health problems can negatively affect the management of physical illnesses and health outcomes.
Programs like telehealth are making mental health care more accessible for those who do not have the resources or money to get the help they need. Telehealth is a big step towards the right direction, and will be a model for other programs. Like stated previously, before uprising programs like telehealth, Fauquier was seriously lacking physicians, counselors, psychologists, and other professionals to treat the people that seriously needed the help but couldn’t afford help. Dr. William A. Hazel, Virginia’s health care chief, stated last year that Virginia’s Medicaid system was ranked 37th in the nation making it a “stingy” program. However, since then the county has added “Rapid Access” programs. Rapid access, also known as open access or same day access, is the process of implementing processes to allow for quicker access to treatment to meet the immediate needs of individuals. These programs offer walk-in patients to be screened for mental health and addiction. These programs are relatively new so there’s not much information on them. However, they are popping up nationwide. The results from these few clinics are promising. They provide rapid and efficient care which helps prevent decompensation, reduces anxiety, reduces costs, and maintains a stability that not many programs can maintain.
It is important we (Fauquier County), as a community, are aware of mental health because it can affect anyone, and more often than not, it goes without being unnoticed and/or treated. Most importantly, it is important that we continue to innovate accessible programs for those who can not afford to get help on their own.
Related Issues
Ignorance of the Topic
While I do not fit the poverty description, I have experienced how mental health can affect your everyday life firsthand. Depression and anxiety have dominated my life since eighth grade. Before, I was extremely embarrassed to even admit I had a mental disorder. The more I refused to acknowledge it, the worse it got. I got it under control for a while, but with disorders it’s not always easy to control. At times, my life starts spiraling out of control and it gets too hard to make it stop so I let the tornado of emotions ruin my life. It gets so bad that I barely leave my room, I stop caring about grades,and I completely isolate myself from my friends and family.
Ignorance of the topic is another problem people with mental disorders have to deal with. My parents, as many others, don’t believe in mental disorders. They lack knowledge of them which causes them to think about disorders as something you can “simply get over.” For example, with depression, they believe if you solely think about happy things you will achieve happiness. As for anxiety, they just think of it as overreacting. These aren’t things you just “get over” from. They’re real disorders and they’re as real as heart attacks. We, as a whole, need to stop downplaying the severity of mental illnesses. We lose countless of lives to suicide yearly. The majority (more than 90%) of suicides have been linked to some sort of mental illness. To kill this stigma, we must first educate the people about mental disorders.
Like stated previously, this isn’t my first time hearing about mental disorders. I am constantly living with my disorders on my shoulders, but with the right medication and help it makes it easier to stay on top of the disorders. However, it is dangerously easy to lose control which allows the disorders to consume you.
Trauma
Trauma is a major risk factor for developing a mental health problem. Adverse Childhood Experiences are stressful or traumatic events. It can be either a single event or on-going stress in childhood that can result in both serious mental health and physical health problems throughout life. And of course, living in poverty, in high crime areas, in families stressed by financial problems, etc. can be very traumatic. Half of all mental health problems show up by age 14 (and 75% by age 24), so the impact of early trauma is also closely related to mental health issues.
Not only does it form a mental health issue, but it also creates a perpetuating cycle of mental illnesses in the family making it hard to get out of poverty. Adults with mental illnesses who are living in poverty face higher health care costs, decreased productivity, and poor general health because of their mental illnesses. With lack of productivity, it makes it harder to gain motivation to do everyday activities. The exit rate from poverty is 56% after just one year of living in poverty, but falls to 13% after seven or more years in poverty. Just like wealth can be passed down from generation to generation, so can poverty. One may think we live in the land of opportunities, but in reality there’s only a limited amount of opportunities a generation coming from living in poverty may get.
These issues came to my attention from an insider at the Free Clinic. He is now 25 years old, and has been a patient since he was little. Although he wishes to remain anonymous, he wants it to be known how hard life is when you don’t have the same opportunities as everyone else. Ever since he was little, he has been working and helping his single mother by working while taking care of his younger siblings. All these problems caused him many problems that developed into an array of mental illnesses. He is not blaming his family for his mental illnesses, he simply acknowledges that growing up in that situation cause him severe stress and constant anxiety.
Thanks to the Free Clinic he is able to keep his composure and his medication. He is far from getting out of poverty, but he believes that he will eventually get out within the next 5 years. Lastly, he wishes that there were programs that helped kids in his situation when he was younger. I suggested a program that reinforces the idea that anything is possible. I know what it’s like to grow up too fast and not enjoy your childhood because of traumatic events. No kid should go threw that alone. Just by having a mentor or someone that genuinely cares about your well being and state of mind can go a long way.
Poverty as a Whole
When you hear the word “poverty” what comes to mind? Does a stereotypical image come to mind? Well scratch that out because poverty doesn’t always look the same. The word itself means not having enough money to sustain basic needs such as food, housing, and clothing. However, it isn’t just about the money. The World Bank Organization said it best when they described poverty as
“Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time.
Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been described in many ways. Most often, poverty is a situation people want to escape. So poverty is a call to action — for the poor and the wealthy alike — a call to change the world so that many more may have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to education and health, protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in their communities.”
The difference between of a resident in poverty and one who is not is astonishing. One is living off paycheck to paycheck while the other one might not even be wondering where their next meal is coming from. One is living in an unsustainable house while the other one is cozy in a suburban home. It is a given that so many people take the lives they have for granted, but when you take a step back to focus on other people besides yourself it really changes you. From food stamps to only being able to afford certain care from the Free Clinic are some of the ways people living in poverty differ from those who aren’t. In the end, we are all humans that deserve a healthy life no matter how much money one has or does not have.
Low income pay, natural disaster, and lack of education are a few factors of poverty and the situation can worsened when having to deal with mental health issues. Fauquier County has been lacking the proper care and solutions for affordable health care programs for the longest time. However, we are making steps towards the right direction by innovating programs such as Telehealth and Rapid Access. Poverty is a persistent problem in societies all around the world, however if we want to change the world we must start by helping those who are closest to us.
References
Mrs. Jean Lowe, secretary of the Mental Health Association of Fauquier, was the first person I had the pleasure of interviewing. Mrs. Lowe said she herself suffers from multiple mental illnesses and that they were the reason she was living in poverty. When she said that there were times where she would spend all her money until she had none to spend, it really opened my eyes. A new issue arose when she said that. The issue being how some people are living in poverty because of their disorder unlike living in poverty and dealing with a disorder. This time the mental disorder was the one that caused one to go into poverty. This also got me thinking about how expensive treatments are. The medicine alone without insurance could put one into debt. Also, not to mention how expensive it is to seek professional care.
Sallie Morgan, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Fauquier, supplied me with a vast variety of information about mental health and where to start. She gave me some statistics about poverty in Virginia. She also informed me about the telehealth programs. I used her information to do more research and extend my project. Mrs. Morgan also listed people I should contact for more information including a list of doctors from the Free Clinic.
Lastly, my third most helpful interview was a patient from the Free Clinic that wishes to remain anonymous. He was able to provide insight on the programs that have helped him. He specifically mentioned the telehealth program because they helped him get control of his bipolarism. Not only did he provide insight on the programs, he also describe poverty from his perspective. He said when he was growing up he would’ve never guessed his family was living in poverty until later in the school years when kids would pick on him for how he dressed. He also stated that despite the fact his mom couldn’t always afford everything, him and his siblings were always thankful for their lives.