"Poor people are so poor, they can’t afford depression." - Shivam Dubey
It wasn’t meant to be poetic or provocative. It was just an honest reflection of what I’ve seen and felt — a harsh reality that many overlook.
When Survival Leaves No Room for Struggle
For those living in poverty, life doesn’t allow the luxury of slowing down. There are no “mental health days” when rent is due, when there’s no food in the kitchen, or when your job could be lost with a single absence.
Depression doesn't skip the poor — it simply goes unnoticed, untreated, and unnamed.
The truth is, it’s not that poor people don’t have depression. It’s that they often don’t have the space to acknowledge it, the resources to treat it, or the support to talk about it.
The Silent Suffering
Mental illness is often spoken about in hushed tones — but in low-income homes, it’s not spoken about at all. Emotional pain gets buried under unpaid bills, family responsibilities, or sheer exhaustion. The symptoms are masked as laziness or moodiness, and the conversation ends before it even begins.
Meanwhile, someone suffering is forced to smile through survival.
Why I Spoke Those Words
I didn’t say this to diminish anyone’s pain — rich or poor. I said it to highlight the imbalance in how we deal with mental health. Therapy, time off, medication — these things are often talked about as if they’re accessible to all. They’re not. And until they are, our mental health systems are incomplete.
We can’t talk about mental health awareness without talking about mental health equity.
What Needs to Change
We need to start building a world where emotional well-being isn’t a privilege of the wealthy. That means affordable mental health services, school and workplace support, and removing the stigma — especially in marginalized communities.
Most importantly, we need empathy — real, active empathy. One that doesn’t judge struggle by its silence.
Shivam Dubey
Writer, Observer, Believer in Better
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