Grow your Emotional and Bank Accounts.
Mental Health is Wealth
So how cost effective is it to obtain mental health care?
“I’m stressed, but I can handle it,” or “I’ll get help when things get really bad.”
What is it costing you not to get help?
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 12 billion working days are lost globally every year because of depression and anxiety, costing the global economy approximately US$1 trillion in lost productivity.
Importantly, mental health treatment is not simply an expense. WHO research found that for every US$1 invested in treating depression and anxiety, there can be a return of approximately US$4 in improved health and ability to work.
Many hesitate to seek mental health care because therapy or counselling can feel like an additional expense. But delaying support can be far more costly—not only financially, but also to your career, relationships and quality of life.
What are the hidden costs of untreated mental health sufferings?
Mental health problems rarely stay neatly contained in one part of our lives.
Anxiety can affect sleep. Poor sleep affects concentration.
Stress affects patience. Depression can make work feel overwhelming.
Relationship problems can leave us distracted at work.
It might mean spending more money on medical appointments because stress is showing up as headaches, stomach problems, insomnia or other physical symptoms.
Drinking more at night because alcohol seems like the easiest way to switch off.
Overeating, abusing substances, process addictions, withdrawing from friends, snapping at your partner or having less patience with your children.
The biggest cost is less obvious: losing years of your life to simply surviving rather than actually enjoying it.
Therapy is an investment, not just an expense
There is also encouraging economic evidence for getting appropriate treatment.
WHO research has estimated that investing in treatment for depression and anxiety can generate approximately US$4–$5 in improved health and ability to work for every US$1 invested, depending on the analysis and assumptions used. A WHO/World Bank investment case estimated returns of up to US$5.70 per dollar spent.
Of course, therapy is not a magic solution, and not every problem requires professional treatment.
Therapy expenses improve your savings at least 4- 5 times in the long run.
Think about it like maintaining your car. You can ignore the warning light because taking it to the garage costs money. But at times, a relatively small repair today becomes a very expensive repair six months later.
Your mental health deserves the same attention.
Seeking counselling or therapy isn’t admitting that you are weak, broken or unable to cope.
What could free me up to experience life differently?
Sometimes it simply means recognising:
“This is costing me more than I realise, and I don’t want to keep paying the price.”
“Or have my family pay the hidden costs one day”.
References
Chisholm, D., Sweeny, K., Sheehan, P., Rasmussen, B., Smit, F., Cuijpers, P., & Saxena, S. (2016). Scaling-up treatment of depression and anxiety: A global return on investment analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(5), 415–424. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30024-4
World Health Organization. (2016, April 13). Investing in treatment for depression and anxiety leads to fourfold return. https://www.who.int/news/item/13-04-2016-investing-in-treatment-for-depression-and-anxiety-leads-to-fourfold-return
World Health Organization. (2020, August 27). World Mental Health Day: An opportunity to kick-start a massive scale-up in investment in mental health. https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/27-08-2020-world-mental-health-day-an-opportunity-to-kick-start-a-massive-scale-up-in-investment-in-mental-health
World Health Organization. (2024, September 2). Mental health at work. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-at-work
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