How Does Financial Wellness Affect Your Mental Health?
The link between your mental health and financial wellness is large!
Experts have found that stress from money problems tends to be chronic, or long-lasting. They also found that financial issues are the top source of stress for most people – even more stressful than politics, family, and work.
Low financial wellness and literacy can lead to high financial stress. Just like with other stressful things in life, this type of tension can cause you to become anxious, depressed, and overwhelmed.
Many people with previous mental health disorders also say that financial troubles make their mental health worse. Similarly, a study found that a large majority of people learned that worsened mental health made their financial wellness worse, in turn.
Mental health and financial wellness work together in a cycle. If one isn’t well, it usually affects the other. Stigmas around debt or poor financial wellness can cause people to not want to ask for help.
If you get to a point where you need to cut back on essentials, like food or heating, mental health impacts can become severe. This makes it even more difficult to recover from mental health disorders. Experts found that people in severe financial troubles are three times more likely to think about suicide. Without proper access to mental health care, it’s difficult to seek help.
How Does Financial Wellness Affect Your Physical Health?
If you have high levels of financial stress, you’re more likely to notice it affect your physical health. This type of pressure can lead to issues like:
- Headaches or migraines
- A weakened immune system
- High blood pressure
- Issues with your digestive system
- Muscle tension
- Heart arrhythmia
- Sleep problems
If your financial wellness is low and you have high financial stress, you’re twice as likely to have poor overall health. Experts also found that you’re four times as likely to get some sort of condition.
Often, these new health issues lead people to spend even more money on medical needs. If you’re already in a tight financial situation, this will just add to the stress.
Financial stress can also lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms. You might be more likely to overeat, use alcohol or drugs, and smoke if you’re stressed about money. But these things only worsen both situations. They lead to further health issues and often can create even more financial stressors.