Is inflation affecting people's mental health that badly?

Shoyeb Alam, a private employee in his late 30s, went out of his Wapda Road home in the capital's Rampura to buy some vegetables a few days ago. After some browsing, he grabbed two bunches of red spinach from a rickshaw van and offered Tk20, but the itinerant vendor would not let it go for no less than Tk30, which triggered a brief haggle between the two. 

An indignant Shoyeb then walked away in distress, after returning the vegetable. Walking a little further, he went to Rampura Bazar and purchased two bunches of red spinach from another vendor for Tk25.

"The kind of bargain I have to put up with just for buying meagre vegetables keeps me far away from meat and fish markets. Every day I go to the market only to find that prices of groceries have gone up but my salary remains stagnant. More so than ever, I feel I am living on edge," Shoyeb Alam told The Business Standard (TBS).

Such exasperation among commoners, overwhelmed by soaring prices of commodities, has become ubiquitous recently, which begs the question – does inflation affect people's mental health that severely?

According to mental health experts, persistent inflation or stagflation is not only a financial issue but also severely affects people's mental well-being.

Dr Helal Uddin Ahmed, an associate professor at the National Institute of Mental Health, told TBS, "Inflation or any other economic disaster endangers the mental health of people. Changes occur in people's thoughts, behaviour and emotional expressions. They experience irritation and depression."

"As mental health experts, we see a spike in patient numbers during major financial crises, unemployment, and a sudden collapse in the stock market. So these issues are not merely financial but closely related to mental health," he said.

"Amid extreme financial burden, people often decide to commit suicide as they feel trapped. In an agitated state, we make more wrong decisions than right ones, which again leads to more severe financial plight," the professor said.

Although there is no medical study in Bangladesh on whether inflation has any impact on people's mental health, research has been done on it in other parts of the world, Dr Helal Uddin Ahmed added.

There may be no credible research done locally in this regard but high inflation does agitate people of all strata of life. It seems to affect the low and fixed-income groups harder, both financially and mentally and the evidence of that can be found in our daily experiences.

Take, for example, the case of Manowar Hossain, a 53-year-old CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver, who demanded Tk250 from a commuter who needed to go to Baridhara from the Mahanagar Project area in the capital last Thursday (9 February) morning. In response, the passenger started to grumble because Manowar Hossain refused to go for anything less.

"Quarrelling with passengers over fares has become a daily occurrence. The passengers turn angry when I mention my fare, which is relatively high, I agree. I have to pay my bills too. I am helpless against rising living costs," CNG driver Manowar Hossain told TBS.

"I drive a rented vehicle. Since 1 February, I have been paying Tk200 extra to the owner. My daily deposit against the auto-rickshaw now stands at Tk1,200. I need another Tk 500-600 for fuel, food and other expenses. Considering the nagging gridlock, it is very tough to earn Tk2,000-2,200 a day if I do not hike the fares," said the motorist.

"I have been driving three-wheelers in Dhaka for decades but I have never seen daily deposits going this much higher. The mere thought of Tk1,200 deposits every day makes me all riled up, not to mention the expenses I have to bear for myself and my family," Manowar Hossain added.

According to a 2019 study, titled "Psychological Pressure Due to Inflation: Money on Our Mind", published in Human Journals, economic behaviour in response to inflation is hypothesised to be a function of subjective cognitive appraisal of threat as well as objective economic indices such as actual income. 

People become psychologically depressed, and tension and anxiety create unrest as they are not able to afford daily commodities, leading to more stress and strain, the study found. 

Adverse impacts on the psyche and the mental level of individuals provoke violence, which further tends to increase suicidal tendencies and lead to overall loss of hope, the study found.

This situation is not exclusive to Bangladesh for people across the globe are feeling the heat of inflation. 

Results from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Healthy Minds Monthly Poll show that nearly 90% of people in the United States report feeling anxious or very anxious about inflation, an increase of eight percentage points from the previous month, healthline.com reported on 15 July 2022.

Surging inflation causes despair, anger, resentment and frustration, but also affects self-worth. With it comes the sense that no matter how hard we work, our savings go a very short way and bring diminishing satisfaction. It is an essential loss of hope, and franticness for the present moment, reports moneycontrol.com on 18 June 2022.

"When prices are rising and you are getting less value for your money, research shows people tend to spend more rapidly in anticipation of a future price rise. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because as we collectively spend more, we save less, increasing the velocity of money, and sparking further inflation in the process. Inflation is first a collective mental cycle and then an economic one," the report reads.

Dr Helal Uddin Ahmed said everyone should practise patience and calm in this time of high inflation, which is a peril for all, not for one person only. 

"I will not say that people cannot have tense and anxious moments but these feelings must be managed through reorganising daily expenditures. Making any hasty decisions may cause more economic loss. If necessary, people should seek help from experts," the professor added.