{"id":654,"date":"2017-11-10T06:45:17","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T06:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.karinalucidlaw.com\/?p=654"},"modified":"2022-05-24T12:10:34","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T12:10:34","slug":"processing-negative-emotions-surrounding-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.karinalucidlaw.com\/processing-negative-emotions-surrounding-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"Processing Negative Emotions Surrounding Debt"},"content":{"rendered":"
If your rising debts have caused increased stress or depression in your life, you\u2019re not alone. In fact, studies<\/a> by the American Psychological Association suggest that financial-related stress affects as many as 72 percent of Americans. Twenty-two percent report \u201cextreme stress\u201d because of their finances. While filing for bankruptcy relief can help you regain control of your finances, leaving these negative emotions unchecked can exacerbate the problem\u2014even slowing down or halting your recovery. Let\u2019s explore a bit of the science behind these emotions, and discuss how to process these emotions more productively.<\/p>\n Dealing with financial woes is never comfortable at first, but denial only extends the pain. In fact, some people make their problems worse by spending money as a form of medication for the stress itself. In this Forbes article<\/a>, Kimberly Moran describes her financial woes:<\/p>\n I’m not the kind of person who doesn’t buy lunch when I might not be able to pay the mortgage. Instead I buy lunch to make myself feel like there is no financial stress. This is better than my husband’s attitude, which is to completely ignore the financial situation until it’s desperate. We aren’t a good financial team because there’s no moderate one\u2026. Spending money helps us feel like nothing is wrong.<\/p>\n Addressing the cycle of denial head-on is the best way to break it. Spending money might cause a temporary surge in dopamine, the brain\u2019s chemical version of a reward. However, it won\u2019t ever make the debt go away.<\/p>\n We understand that financial woes can cause depression, but, as Psych Central reports<\/a>, quite often the reverse is true: Some of us got into financial trouble because we were already depressed. When we are down, we tend to take more days off work, or we avoid dealing with the bills out of despair\u2014which, of course, only makes the problem worse. You might want to soul-search a bit to figure out which came first. Did the negative emotions predate the financial struggles or vice versa? Either way, if your depression seems unmanageable on your own, there\u2019s no shame in getting help to deal with it.<\/p>\nFace the Problem<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The Chicken or the Egg Scenario<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Action versus Self-Punishment<\/strong><\/h4>\n