The psychological impact of financial stress is often underestimated. Not only can financial stress impact mental health but may also create a vicious cycle of financial problems. Understanding how this works and ways to overcome financial stress might be enough to help you avoid or escape this cycle of financial stress and financial problems. Feel free to talk to a Chattanooga bankruptcy attorney to figure out what your options are related to bankruptcy.
Psychological Impact of Financial Stress
The psychological impact of financial stress is often overlooked. There are a multitude of ways in which financial stress can affect mental health, life satisfaction, and financial functioning. Financial stress can increase worry and psychological distress, both of which may have negative effects on physical health.
Past research has shown connections between having a low income or high debt and psychological distress. Financial worries are speculated to be behind a lot of this distress, to the point of significant financial strain. Not only can stress lead to lower life satisfaction but may also create a cycle of stress and financial hardship.
The cycle of poor financial health and mental health struggles is a feedback loop that sustains financial stress. What happens is financial problems often lead to mental health problems like stress. This stress often makes it more challenging to manage money, whether due to lower motivation, giving up, avoidance of money management, or concentration problems.
These mental obstacles to money management often lead to more financial problems which, in turn, lead to more financial stress. In other words, financial stress increases financial problems that increase financial stress, and the cycle continues. Some reassurance may come from the idea that there are ways to overcome financial stress.
How to Overcome Financial Stress
There are multiple ways to overcome financial stress that may help you break the vicious cycle. Taking steps to cope with stress can sometimes reduce stress enough to foster healthier thinking. This healthier thinking may improve motivation and concentration enough to start taking control of your finances.
Common stress coping skills include relaxation techniques like deep breathing or deep muscle relaxation, problem-solving to remove stressors, social support to build motivation, and physical health interventions like nutrition and exercise. Meditation involves focusing on the present moment rather than the past or future financial problems.
Retaining activities you enjoy helps retain the enjoyment of life despite the financial challenges. Reframing negative worry thoughts can also shift perspectives on life despite facing various financial stressors. For example, instead of thinking you will never escape debt, this thought could be reframed to the idea that debt might be escapable with multiple options for escaping debt.
Contact Tom Bible Law Today
Financial stress can be overwhelming, but you may not have to deal with financial problems alone. Feel free to call us at Tom Bible Law today at (423) 424-3116 for a consultation about your financial situation. Our legal team of Tennessee bankruptcy lawyers is ready to help you explore all possible options related to bankruptcy to escape your financial dilemma. We are located throughout the Tennessee cities of Chattanooga, Kingsport, and Tullahoma.