Mental health and financial wealth are intertwined in a complex relationship. It is important to recognise not only that the super-rich are just as susceptible to mental health issues as the poorer members of society, but also that they face challenges specific to their high socio-economic status.
Nobody is immune to mental health problems and the link between financial stress and mental health is well-documented. However, research has mostly focused on the stress caused by a lack of money – the high correlation between debt and depression. The financial stresses specific to the wealthy and the mental health implications of that stress are less well understood and not widely acknowledged.
The truth is that, while money makes many aspects of life easier, material wealth is only one piece of the intricate puzzle of human happiness. Mental health disorders – including anxiety, depression and deep-seated unhappiness – are complex conditions that do not discriminate based on financial status.
True mental health is more than just the absence of psychiatric disorders and its six essential components apply regardless of a person’s financial status:
Even as wealth provides comfort, stability and freedom, it can generate immense anxiety, insecurity and fear. Wealthy people are human – subject to the same kinds of mental and emotional disorders as anyone else. Among the unique pressures and psychological challenges of high socio-economic status are:
Today’s world is built on competition for resources, money, prestige and power. Surviving this competitive battle very often means prioritising business over self-care, work-life balance and healthy relationships. Even when material success is achieved, the compulsion to compete, dominate and accumulate doesn’t just disappear – and that can make even the wealthiest person feel trapped, anxious and depressed.
Financial pressure: Material wealth brings its own, specific financial stressors. The pressure to maintain or increase wealth – whether the pressure is self-imposed or comes from the external expectations of society – is compounded by the fear of losing it. The self-made super-rich have all had failures along the way, so they rarely believe that their wealth will be there forever. Those who inherit wealth live in fear that their fortune may be lost, stolen or wasted due to miscalculations or misfortune.
Feeling like a Target: The rich and the famous often live with a constant, underlying fear for their physical and financial safety and thus persistent and deep-seated anxiety. An exaggerated fear for physical security can eventually degenerate into hypervigilance or paranoia. The fear of being manipulated or exploited by others creates serious trust issues. The fear of media scrutiny – rooted in the fundamental human need for peace and quiet – applies equally to celebrities and those wishing to maintain a low public profile. For the wealthy, the fear of media scrutiny is exaggerated by the need to protect their reputation.
Trust issues: In personal relationships, the wealthy find themselves questioning people’s motives – constantly asking themselves whether others are being nice to them only because of their high status. “Does someone want to be my friend, lover or spouse because of who I really am. Or only for what I can give them?” This mistrust applies equally in business, with the attendant fear of being a target for exploitation.
Loss of connection: Relationships are often shallow and transactional, rather than the deeply nurturing and supportive relationships that are essential for mental and emotional wellbeing. This applies equally to friendships within ‘the gilded circle’ of peers and relationships between the super-rich and those outside the immediate circle.
Loneliness, social isolation: High socio-economic status naturally means buying things and living in a way that creates separation from the rest of society. Thus, the wealthy become unrelatable and lose connections. While wider society may perceive them to have a fabulous social life, they are in fact socially isolated from all but a small group of similarly wealthy people. This creates a very particular and deep kind of loneliness.
Lack of grounding: Incessant travel – whether for business or social reasons – means itinerant lives; having multiple homes doesn’t guarantee a sense of roots since, in many cases, none of the houses is truly lived in, with the emotional anchor of home; ‘living in a bubble’ – with everything taken care of, from private jet to chauffeur to domestic staff – creates detachment from the wider world, including the ‘simple pleasures’ so vital to human well-being.
Status anxiety: In his book, Status Anxiety, the philosopher Alain de Botton describes the “almost universal anxiety about what others think of us – about whether we’re judged a success or a failure, a winner or a loser”. This is exaggerated by wealth, and the sense of relative deprivation within the rarefied environment of the super-rich can become corrosive. (Having grown up in a wealthy family, de Botton has a deep understanding of this.)
‘Never enough’ syndrome: No matter how much money one has, there is always a wealth differential – whether the differential between, say, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, or the differential between what one has and what one wishes to have. The pursuit of money (and its attendant power) can become compulsive – the process itself an addiction as toxic any other behavioral addiction.
Perhaps the hardest lesson for the materially successful is this: constantly striving for more in the expectation that it will bring happiness will only lead to disappointment. Having everything is never enough – and reaching the ‘top’ only to discover that there is no top is a cruel psychological blow.
The first step towards mental well-being is to accept that psychological vulnerability is an intrinsic part of being human – and therefore, there is no shame in seeking support. Perhaps the greatest benefit in having financial wealth is that it enables access to the world’s finest care and support.
What is crucial is to find a holistic approach that includes therapy and counselling that is directly relevant to the particular issues facing the wealthy – and to understand that early intervention is always better than waiting for a crisis to hit before taking action. Building this foundation of awareness and timely support makes it easier to maintain balance in everyday life and to cope with challenges as they arise.
Taking proactive measures and seeking professional support when necessary can significantly improve your mental health. With patience and self-care, you can achieve balance and resilience when returning to routine. At The Kusnacht Practice, our psychotherapy experts are trained to address these emotions with personalised strategies and therapeutic techniques to support you in managing symptoms and achieving greater emotional well-being.
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