Mental & Emotional Health

Since I will have been unemployed for two weeks by the time that I start nannying, I’ve been a bit stressed out about money. I have a back board and can turn to family if I get desperate, but I hate having to ask for help or admit that I’ve done something I need assistance with. Many people are stressed about money even though they work full-time … or even more than full-time … and so I thought I’d do a few posts about financial stress and how it affects our lives … and then what we can do to help ourselves.

There are millions of internet sites you can find if you do a simple Google search of “financial tips,” and so I had quite a bit of information to digest. Good thing I’m getting paid to do this at least, right? ; )

Research has recently show (thank you 2007 tax year) that half of employed people have money “problems” and financial stress can be linked multiple ways to depression and anxiety. In 2005, the US Congress passed legislation making it harder to wipe away credit card debt which only seemed to increase the anxiey surrounding finances for most.

This anxiety over finances can affect a person’s physical, mental and emotional health in many ways:

* unhealthy coping behaviors: when one has to deal with financial stressors, you may be more likely to want to numb your anxiety by binge drinking, smoking nicotine, using drugs, emotional overeating, and other unhealthy coping behaviors. These actions do not reduce the amount of stress and anxiety in a person’s life; in fact, they will more often add to a stress level.

* having less money for self-care: if you don’t have a lot of money, you aren’t going to take as good care of yourself (or your family) as you would be able to if there were more money involved. Health care is expensive and preventative measures are put by the wayside when the budget gets tight. Small health problems may turn into larger ones as they are ignored and grow.

* lost sleep: stress related insomnia is a huge problem in our nation. A lack of sleep impairs your immune system, your mental and cognitive functioning and can cause moodniess. Who wants to be stressed and moody at the same time?

* unhealthy emotions: feelings of hopelessness, high levels of frustration and intense anxiety can be experienced when debt begins to pile up. The additional stress compounding with the stress from poor coping & self-neglect can lead to an immense and menacing amount of stress.

It is absolutely no surprise that American’s leading cause of stress is money! Tomorrow I will concentrate on some resources on how to handle your own financial situation in order to feel more control in your life.

mental & emotional health, depression, anxiety, money, stress, financial stress, budgeting