Financial difficulty and stress are more common than you might think. It can have a drastic impact on your mental health and wellbeing and lead to significant problems in the long term, therefore even worsen existing financial stress.
It is not uncommon that the two go hand in hand, therefore it’s important to be aware of the signs of how much your financial issues are impacting your mental health, and what to do about it.
Poor financial wellbeing can make mental health problems worse. For example, someone struggling with mental health issues might find it difficult to work or get a job, therefore causing even more financial difficulty, further impacting stress and anxiety.
There are various signs to look out for that financial stress is affecting your health and relationships.
Financial stress can lead to:
Insomnia: Nothing will keep you up tossing and turning at night more than worrying about loss of income, unpaid bills, or pending bailiff action.
Weight gain (or loss): stress is known to disrupt your appetite, causing you to anxiously overeat to cope with your emotional distress or to skip meals to save money.
Depression: living under the cloud of money problems can leave anyone feeling down, hopeless, and struggling to concentrate or make decisions.
Anxiety: worrying about unpaid bills or loss of income can trigger anxiety such as a pounding heartbeat, sweating, shaking, or even panic attacks.
Relationship difficulties: money is one of the most common issue couples argue about. If you’re experiencing a period of financial stress, it can make you angry and irritable, cause a loss of interest in sex, and break even the strongest relationships.
Social withdrawal: financial worries can cause you to withdraw from friends, curtail your social life, and retreat into your shell—which will only make your stress worse.
Physical ailments: such as headaches, gastrointestinal problems, diabetes, heart disease heart diseases. You may not think to link these to financial stress, however left untreated could cause long-term issues.
Unhealthy coping methods: drinking too much, abusing prescription or illegal drugs, gambling, or overeating are unhealthy habits that not only can begin due to financial stress, but will also add further financial pressures and issues. Money worries can also lead to self-harm or thoughts of suicide.
While these are normal reactions to experiencing money issues, they can begin to take a toll on your overall health in the long term.
When it comes to organising your finances, budgeting is key. It’s important to always prioritise important debts, such as mortgage or rent payments, utility bills, council tax, as if not paid, it could lead to serious problems. Once you have detailed your total income and expenditure for the month then you’ll know exactly if or what money you have left over for the month.
If budgeting your finances isn’t enough to help reduce your financial issues in the short-term, it might be time to speak to get debt help us about a tailored debt solution, such as an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), to help take back control of your finances and get your life back on track.
We’re here to help – chat to us today for free and confidential advice.
