The Financial Impact of Mental Health
Published on July 15, 2026 | 3 min read | Webster Bank
Mental health is essential to everyone’s wellbeing. Mental health disorders, diagnosed or not, may be playing a role in your daily life. Often, financial problems or worries may impact your mental wellbeing, especially if you’re anxious or depressed about your situation. Mental health complications impact people in various ways, sometimes even causing financial strife. Below, we take a look at some examples.
Mental Health’s Cost to the Economy
Mental health disorders often lead people to miss days at work. The global economy has lost $2.5 trillion in productivity and poor worker health as a result of mental health concerns.
With more than a billion people across the globe suffering from some form of mental health disorder, it is no surprise that getting those who need it the proper care is not only ethically sound but financially sound as well.1
The Cost of Treatment
Even though there have been significant advances in mental health treatments through pharmacological and clinical interventions, the rate of treatment is still slow and sometimes costly in some areas of the world.
Costs for mental health are not only limited to treatment and counseling but also include staff, centers, training, outreach, advocacy, and social services. Treatment costs are high, but they tend to be worth it. For every dollar spent on mental health treatment, that region may see a $4 return on productivity and health.1
Financial Costs to Those Suffering From Mental Health Concerns
The financial costs of poor mental health are not only limited to the global economy. Those suffering from mental health concerns may experience financial problems as well. A person that’s depressed may be unable to work. Someone who experiences a manic episode is unable to care for their own needs. They may also make poor monetary decisions during those periods of high stress and loss of clarity. That may cost them money in the long term, weighing on their financial stability.2
Mental Health and Debt
Studies have shown that almost 50% of adults with a significant amount of debt suffer from one or more mental health concerns. The process sometimes becomes a vicious cycle. Your mental health issues may lead to overspending, poor money management, poor budgeting, and difficulty securing sustainable employment. That spending may lead to high debt levels. Once you have developed debt, the debt may become a significant burden, which may make you even more anxious or depressed about your financial situation, exacerbating your mental health problems.2
Seeking out help for mental health concerns is important, not only for the global economy but also for your personal financial situation as well. If you know you have a mental health disorder or are not feeling like yourself and are unsure why, seeking out treatment as soon as you are able to do so. When you obtain that support, you may be able to better focus on your financial goals and have a better quality of life as a result.
Important Disclosures
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.
This article was prepared by WriterAccess.
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Footnotes
1 Mental health matters | The Lancet
2 Debt and mental health | Mental Health.org
