Money on your mind
KATIE WRIGHT looks at unexpected ways your finances and mental health might be linked
A STUDY has highlighted the sometimes overlooked link between money worries and mental health issues.
Commissioned by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, the charity set up by consumer champion Martin Lewis, the State We’re In report found that over the previous 12 months, people with mental health problems were more than twice as likely to have been behind with at least one payment.
Nearly half (46%) of people with a mental health problem agreed with the statement, ‘I can’t afford to regularly save money’, while 25% said they have no savings put aside for emergences, compared with 18% of people without mental health problems.
Clearly, struggling to make ends meet can cause enormous stress and anxiety, but did you know there are other ways your finances can affect your psychological wellbeing – and vice versa?
Spending to ease anxiety
“People who have anxiety may be more likely to be in debt because their focus is not on future needs but more in line with quelling their anxiety,” says Philip Karahassan, BACP counsellor and founder of Therapy in London (therapyin.london).
That doesn’t necessarily mean the ‘treat yourself’ approach, however. “It could be buying gifts to take the pressure off. As a result, anxiety sufferers may stretch themselves beyond their means and can create a spiral of anxiety by being in debt or not being able to afford provisions, rent, or bills. This creates more anxiety and the cycle continues.”
Gifts instead of emotion
Thoughtful gifts are a lovely way of showing you care, but there’s a danger that “money can sometimes be interchanged with love,” says Dr Audrey Tang, psychologist and author of The Leader’s Guide to Resilience, a behaviour which may be learned if your parents showered you with gifts instead of regular quality time.
“A child in this environment, may enter adulthood using money in place of emotion – instead of offering support, they send flowers; if they let you down they buy you a present, rather than doing something that takes effort.”
If this pattern continues, there’s a risk that “the gifts, may need to become more extreme in order for the relationship to last... this can lead to financial issues on top of emotional ones.”
Shopping as a form of escapism
Are you a believer in retail therapy? “It’s worth asking yourself what you’re spending money on and why,” says Matt Wotton, BACP therapist and co-director of the London Centre for Applied Psychology (lcap.co.uk).
“Spending can be a way to avoid facing up to problems. There’s no harm in the occasional pick-me-up treat after a stressful day at work, but using shopping to “avoid the fact life feels empty, or to avoid confronting the problems in your relationship” may not be wise.
Matt adds: “If it’s a habit, it’s probably masking a problem. And while spending can feel fun, research shows saving is often a more reliable boost to happiness. Money in the bank has a stronger link to life satisfaction than income.”
Impulse purchases
Are you easily affected by adverts urging you not to miss out on deals? Do you hit ‘add to basket’ as soon as you see an item is low in stock?
“This can relate to the psychological hangover from evolutionary times when we were built to survive, not necessarily thrive long term,” says Dr Tang, meaning we make rash purchases based on our “fear of losing out rather than thinking critically about what is being offered”.
She advises: “It is important to recognise that times have changed and therefore our judgments must as well. Now it is not necessarily a case of missing out, but asking ‘Is someone trying to trick me?”’