Money is one of the most common sources of stress and can come in from debt to everyday costs to job loss. If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve been through some form of financial difficulty or know someone who has.
While we can all agree that financial stress affects you in many ways, do you know how it impacts your health? If you’re continuously worried about how much money you have (or don’t have), how you’ll pay your bills, and possibly feed your family, you’re likely to develop one of the numerous stress-related health problems. If left unchecked, they can lead to serious, even life-threatening disorders.
To cope with financial stress, consider following the following steps:
1. Evaluate your current circumstances: What measures did you take to get to this stage in terms of spending? Usually, there are multiple events that lead up to the event. This isn’t done to make you feel bad; rather, it’s done to assist you to uncover behaviors that may be modified to enhance your future.
2. Identify your financial relationship: If you have a partner, talk about your financial connection. This could be part of a desire for convenience, luxury, love, power, or something else entirely. You can go on by identifying your underlying relationship with money and acknowledging that it does not guarantee happiness or stability.
3. Seek assistance: For people in financial need, a trustworthy friend, financial advisor, church, community agency, or even your bank can be helpful.
4. Create and stick to a budget. while you might think this is stressful, having a budget may be liberating. The most important thing is to stick to a budget that is reasonable. It will take time to get out of this situation, just as it took time to get here. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t keep trying.
