Building Resilience Around Finances
Money troubles don't just affect our bank account, they also impact our mental and emotional wellbeing. The relationship between financial stress and mental health creates a complex cycle that can feel impossible to break, but understanding this connection is the first step toward building both financial and emotional resilience.
It’s important to recognize that financial stress isn't just in your head—it’s a full-body experience that triggers the same, intense physiological responses as major life crises. When money worries hit, adrenaline and cortisol spike, causing persistent anxiety, irritability, poor sleep, and even physical pain. Worse yet, this stress clouds our judgment, creating a vicious cycle of bad decisions and increased worry. The good news is that just like other life challenges, this cycle can be broken.
The connection between money and mental health flows both ways. Financial difficulties can trigger or exacerbate mental health symptoms while mental health difficulties can make managing finances more challenging. For example, our anxious symptoms can create decision making paralysis or our depressive symptoms can lead to impulsive spending or an inability to work.
Developing a self-care routine is important when managing financial stress. Consider incorporating some of these evidence-based approaches:
Establish or maintain a practice of mindfulness, to reduce anxiety and calm racing thoughts. This can include guided meditations, visualization exercises, or simply finding time away from distractions to experience moments of being present in mind and body.
Integrate deep breathing and grounding techniques such as box breathing or polyvagal exercises, to activate your body’s relaxation response and reduce physical symptoms of stress.
Maintain social connections with supportive friends, family members, or groups that focus on healthy habit building. Sharing experiences can provide perspective and emotional relief.
Stay active to reduce stress hormones and trigger endorphins, which enhance mood. Research indicates that regular exercise improves focus, cognitive function, and sleep, mitigating the effects of stress.
Prioritize a nutritious diet rich in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids to manage stress. Additionally, incorporating fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, and kimchi can further support stress reduction
Focus on quality sleep, aiming for 7-9 hours a night. Getting enough rest allows your body to recover from stress and protects your mental health against anxiety and depression.
Implement effective time management techniques to reduce feeling overwhelmed. Set realistic goals, organize tasks by priority, and establish healthy boundaries to avoid overcommitment.Focus on small, manageable steps around finances. Consider breaking overwhelming financial goals into smaller, achievable actions. Instead of "get out of debt," try "pay an extra $25 toward credit cards this month." These wins build confidence and momentum.
Seek mental health support and consider financial counseling or coaching. Some therapists specialize in the emotional and psychological aspects of money management. They can help you identify deep-rooted beliefs about money, develop healthier financial behaviors, work through financial trauma or family money patterns and help create sustainable budgeting and spending plans.
The intersection of money and mental health is deeply personal, influenced by family history, cultural background, and individual experiences. Ultimately, improving financial wellbeing is a journey that requires patience, persistence, and compassion towards oneself. Understanding the root causes of stress and their broad implications helps create knowledge and motivation for positive change. Remember, seeking help is a sign of strength, and addressing money challenges can protect both our financial future and our mental health.
Rachel Brown, MSW, SWLC
Resources
https://reachlink.com/advice/life-stressors-and-transitions/financial-stress-impact-on-mental-health-and-wellbeing/
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/advice-for-life-situations-and-events/how-to-cope-with-financial-worries/
https://organizations.headspace.com/blog/5-tips-for-taming-financial-anxiety