The Cost

It can be hard to quantify how much mental health struggles cost us. Between the shame, and the guilt–not the mention the stigma, and the judgment–the toll is high.

But every once in a while someone attaches a number to it and you’re face with the reality, in black and white.

The fact that I take a medication to manage my ADD will cost me $55 a month in life insurance premiums. That is $660 a year.

Over 30 years, it adds up to almost $20,000.

Sometimes it’s hard to quantify the costs, but other times they are very, very clear.

I guessed this was going to happen, but I wasn’t prepared for how broken and worthless it makes me feel.

12 Comments

  1. You are so totally worth this cost!!! AND MORE! It is just another quantifiable number to add to your ‘cost for maintenance’. Yes it costs you more for insurance; yes, it costs in medicine copays…….but the value received and creativity expressed is manifolds more! Consider this tiny number compared to the costs of food and housing for you ~ Not a burning of money without gain.
    Cheers

  2. Interesting! I just started up my meds again tonight and they were $45 for the month, which sucks but I thought, “worth it!”. But I had not thought about life insurance going up. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.

    1. I don’t know if an existing policy would go up because of medication. I am just getting a policy and I was originally quoted one price but after the interview I was told that because of my ADD medication the price would be almost doubled. I don’t think it would have been an issue if I had bought the policy before I was taking my medication again. Of course then I’d be 40lbs heavier so…

      1. Honesty is costly, isn’t it? Double sounds like a LOT just because of ADD meds. I find that strange. Have you shopped it around?

  3. If it’s any consolation I’ve spent that on my inexplicably jacked up teeth. I guess genetics? I brush twice a day and floss damnit!!

    1. Mine too! They are horrible. I had three root canals before I was 12! And two after! And my gums are already receding. My teeth suck.

  4. That’s so frustrating to hear! I am wondering, though, if you’ve found the cheapest life insurance you can. My husband, who smokes cigarettes, pays $60/month for his life insurance. There’s so way there is a higher premium on a ADD meds than on cigarette smoking! Plus men pay higher premiums than women because they don’t live as long. It’s possible you are insured for more than we are. But still, I’d think more shopping around might help.

    1. I haven’t shopped around too much. I want to make sure I’m getting life insurance from a company that I can trust (or at least hope to trust) will still be around if my family actually needs to cash in my policy, and not necessarily the cheapest provider. I’m also getting fairly significant coverage because of the size of our mortgage and the cost of living here.

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