Financial problems have a major impact on mental health, as they can cause major concerns in the lives of those who do not have a healthy relationship with money. Being in an unfavorable financial situation, without having the resources to pay basic bills, for example, can lead to great stress .
As financial difficulties increase, leisure options decrease. You can’t go out with friends, attend social events or travel without having the resources. Obviously, there are many moments that can be spent with loved ones without needing money, but this resource helps to have more peace of mind .
To have good mental health, it is essential to have a balance between different aspects of life. Basically, this means that we need to have our social, professional, romantic, financial and other life in order. If one of these areas is not well, it tends to affect the others.
In the following article we will explain how financial problems can affect your mental health.
After all, how can financial problems affect mental health?
Constantly worrying about financial issues is detrimental to your mental health. Having debts and spending a lot of time thinking about them can lead to great stress, anxiety and, in some cases, even panic. The apprehension that financial problems generate can harm the smooth running of your life as a whole.
1. Feeling of emotional and physical discomfort
Financial conditions have a major impact on achieving and maintaining physical and emotional well-being . Having a home, access to water and electricity, as well as medical care, the ability to exercise regularly, among others, contributes to quality of life.
Not having basic living conditions affects anyone’s well-being. It is natural that in a difficult situation, this individual begins to become irritated and distressed. The simple fact of not having access to basic demands causes the person to become stressed.
2. Severe stress
One of the easiest symptoms of financial problems to identify is stress. Many people feel anxious when they are unable to resolve their financial issues. And since finances are a sensitive topic for many, it is common for these people to not talk about it, accumulating stress.
Constantly receiving cortisol (stress hormone) discharges in the body increases the vulnerability to psychosomatic illnesses.
3. Emergence of interpersonal problems
Having financial problems considerably affects social life and interpersonal relationships. Not having resources available for leisure can lead to social isolation.
It becomes difficult to keep up with friends or coworkers when they go out. Over time, the person starts to feel left out of conversations, especially those related to shopping and traveling.
In romantic relationships, financial problems generate even more severe conflicts. This can create a climate of constant demand for an improvement in financial conditions and irritation with the lack of money. Those who have children suffer even more when they realize that they are not able to provide them with everything they wanted.
4. Low self-esteem
Social media allows us to follow the lives of even those who are not so close to us. Seeing people we know achieving and doing what we want, but do not have the resources for, can become a stimulus for the development of self-esteem problems .
Being broke and even in debt can make people believe that they have no right to be in the same places as these people. Feeling inferior due to a lack of money is relatively common among teenagers and is growing among adults.
5. Mental exhaustion issues
Experiencing financial difficulties can generate a variety of intense emotions in a short space of time. A person may feel shame, fear, sadness, anger, doubt, among others.
As time goes by, the individual begins to feel overwhelmed by so many accumulated negative feelings. There is a perception that there is not a single moment free from money-related worries.
What causes financial problems?
If you think that only irresponsibility or economic crises cause financial problems, you should know that this is not the case. Several psychological issues are related to the economic factor. People have different views on money and not all of them are positive. For some, this resource has a negative connotation.
Having this view causes many people to not make good financial decisions for their lives. This is how many people end up in debt. Below we list some recurring thoughts and beliefs regarding money:
Feeling guilty about not being able to manage your own finances
In this case, the person blames themselves for not being able to take care of their own finances and depending on help from third parties or even banks to pay their debts.
Shame for not having possessions
Shame for not being able to have the same possessions as your friends.
Shame about the way you use money
For some people, spending money works as a way to improve their mood or bring a fleeting sense of well-being. This is common among those who do not have good emotional mechanisms to deal with stress and difficult situations.