Living with a mental health condition or disorder has an impact on every aspect of your life because for everything to go well, your mind needs to be in the right space. You’re able to make sound decisions and life-changing resolutions when you are mentally stable.
This includes your financial life. Whether we like it or not, oftentimes our lives revolve around money, it enables us to accomplish almost all of our desired ambitions. Now, if you cannot handle your finances well, there will be problems. It is said that one of the reasons that people have an unhealthy financial life is the state of their mental wellness.
The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI) reports that numerous people with mental health issues say that during times of poor mental health, they experience major changes in their spending patterns and capacity to make financial decisions. According to a recent nationwide survey of persons with mental health issues, conducted by the institute, “63% of those who were not well found it more difficult to make financial decisions, 42% postponed paying their bills, and 38% took out a loan that they would not have otherwise taken out.
“If their household’s primary source of income were to disappear, three out of ten individuals with mental health issues (or 29% of them) stated that they could barely get by for less than a month. This was twice as many as the 14% of respondents who said they had never dealt with a mental health issue.”
Moreover, the publication states that mental health issues may make it more difficult to interact with crucial services like banks and energy providers, adding that individuals may find it difficult to recall account details and understand bills, which can cause difficulties with finances and anxiety.
Mind, an online mental health charity states that feeling down or sad can make it difficult for you to stay motivated to take care of your money and you may feel it’s not worth a shot. “You could get a temporary thrill from spending, so you might overspend to feel better.” The publication also suggested a few tips on how to better control your financial life while dealing with mental health issues;
- Inform a trusted person of any red flags that suggest you may be overspending or that your mental health may be suffering.
- Give your cards to a reliable person or store them in a hard-to-get-at location.
- Don’t store your credit card information on websites.
- Eliminate any apps that tempt you to spend money or where you typically overspend.
The Mental Health and Money Advice publication also suggested a few techniques that help, these include;
- Remove contactless payment options from your card or phone. Whenever possible, pay with cash instead of a credit or debit card. This will make buying impulsively harder to do.
- If purchasing an item makes you feel worse, by all means, buy it, but make sure to keep the receipt and any tags attached. Once more, this will give you some breathing room, and once your manic episode has passed, you can return the items.
Also see: How millennials and gen z approach money
