Mental Health Vs Middle Class

“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life” (Thoreau). This statement is especially true in the USA, where there are massive differences in the lives of those with a little, those with some, the infamous “middle class, and those with a lot. These differences are reflected in all areas of a person’s life, from their education to their lifespan and health care. The American middle class’s physical health, mental health, and the differences in health care between the upper middle class and the lower middle class show how money affects an American’s well-being.
The general physical health of the middle class hugely affects the entire United States, and these people’s ability to pay for this healthcare can have a huge impact on these people’s
It’s important to observe not only how the middle class’s financial abilities and lifestyle affect physical health, but how these things can affect mental health as well. “Increasing evidence supports the link between lower SES and negative psychological health outcomes, while more positive psychological outcomes such as optimism, self-esteem and perceived control have been linked to higher levels of SES for youth” (American Psychological Association). SES stands for socioeconomic status. The APA has found links between good mental health and having a higher socioeconomic status while young. This could be attributed to everything from the amount of stress someone has to their ability to relax or rest. Most importantly, the way children’s mental health is being influenced from the time they’re born will have a huge effect on the future of the United States. How it’s soon-to-be adults grow up could completely change the
The advantages to living an upper class life include better health care, while the disadvantages of a lower class life include poor health care. The middle class rests somewhere in between these two extremes.“Low-income Americans are less likely to experience enjoyment and happiness compared with those in the middle-class and high-income groups and are much more likely to experience worry, sadness, stress, and anger. The gap between the low- and high-income groups ranges from 6 points on stress to 18.3 points on sadness” (Mendes). Referring back to mental health, there are massive differences between the higher and lower classes happiness and stress levels. Middle class Americans are more alike the upper class in this situation, however, they still are not quite as fortunate as the upper class. The lower class falls very far behind both the middle class and upper class. This shows that while the middle class is not quite to the upper classes’ standards of living, they are far better off than the lower class. . Another aspect of the differences in lower and upper class health is the amount of people insured. As mentioned before, insurance has a massive effect of a group’s health. “In 2010, adults 18–64 years of age with a family income below 200% of the poverty level were more than six times as likely to be uninsured (42%–43%), and adults with a