Financial Psychology Center

facebook
Linkedin
twitter
instragram

financial anxiety

By

Financial Stress and Your Immune System

How financial stress makes you susceptible to viruses and what to do about it.

On your average day, most of us endure a certain amount of financial stress. With the coronavirus pandemic threatening millions and millions of jobs globally, financial stress has shot through the roof. The biggest problem, particularly now, is that any kind of stress creates wear and tear on several systems in our bodies, including our immune system. Managing and reducing your stress levels is crucial if we come into closer contact with the coronavirus. As with any virus, the COVID19 respiratory virus requires a healthy immune system to have a chance at surviving it.

Understanding Stress.

We mostly think of stress as a psychological issue where we are overthinking, worrying, irritable, restless or overwhelmed. However, these mental strains affect the body as well as we experience tense muscles, racing heart, fatigue, insomnia, and lack of appetite. If you are worried about job security, paying bills or your retirement, the psychological stress creates a physical reaction. It channels energy and resources towards your nervous system to help restore your mental equilibrium.

Mental stress leaves your immune system vulnerable and unable to function optimally.

The human body operates on the principle of efficiency, only using what it needs and prioritizing what it considers to be most important. Under normal circumstances, one of the body’s primary focuses is maintaining the immune system as it is the body’s first line of defense against biological threats like germs, bacteria, and viruses. But in times of crisis, your body will go into survival mode and start limiting the allocation of resources. It will direct a lot of energy to your brain to solve the stress associated with financial challenges bombarding it. Your body is naturally resilient. By controlling your stress, you will allow it to focus on what is most important right now: your immune system.

What to do to reduce stress and strengthen your immune system.

  • Worry Sessions
    Speak to a trusted, positive friend about your financial concerns or even have a self-chat and play both the negative and positive stories. Keep it short. Set a timer. Ten minutes is enough. Vent your worries without overreacting or overindulging. Acknowledge your feelings, but don’t wallow in the negative ones.
  • Stay Aware
    Be mindful throughout the day. Stay aware of your inner dialogue the rest of the day as financial fear may still arise. Set them aside until your next worry session.
  • Breathing (mind/body)
    During the day if you feel anxiety creeping up on you, practice deep breathing. Supplying oxygen to the brain is one of the best ways to reduce stress. It stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and the amygdala (emotional part of the brain) to induce immediate calmness.
  • Exercise
    No need to run a marathon. And, right now you can’t go to the gym. But you can go for walks in safe areas or set up a spot in your home, connect with an online workout or yoga class. It is important to feel present in your body.
  • Connection
    In the era of “social distancing”, we MUST also remember that connecting with other human beings, especially in a time of crisis, is crucial to our ability to remain calm and build stamina for the fight ahead. Reach out on the phone, video chat or speak with someone already in your home. Get the support you need and offer support to others. This helps us to get out of our own head and fear.
  • Calm your nerves, boost your immune system.
    From essential oils, herbal teas and organic supplements there are countless items on the market today that offer holistic support to your physiology. Research online, ask friends or consult with a nutritionist or medical professional to find the best support for your system’s needs.

By

Fight. Flight. Freeze. How are you Responding to the Coronavirus?

Quick Check-In on how your brain is processing the COVID-19 Pandemic

If you are like most Americans, you were already experiencing chronic stress around your finances according to the Stress in America survey done by the American Psychological Association. The current state of emergency due to the novel coronavirus pandemic has affected a tremendous amount of people raising the overall stress levels to unprecedented proportions.

Not all stress is bad. In simple terms it can be viewed as our response to a threat. It urges us to move away from danger and stay safe. However, our brains are interpretation machines and how they perceive the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic to our health and our financial stability will determine the level of our stress response.

A stress response is both psychological and physiological, it affects both our mind and body. Chronic and acute stress triggers our survival mode which activates the fight, flight or freeze response. The first two are appropriate responses during hard times. It’s a call-to-action by our brains. The freeze response is the most detrimental as it makes you “dead in the water” and unable to adapt and change to your new circumstances.

ACTION:

Take a moment to check in with yourself. Are you in fight, flight or freeze right now?

REACTION:

Fight. The fight response may provide you with a bit of an edge and get you into action. The Coronavirus pandemic has halted so much of our lives so it’s easy to feel powerless, but you are not helpless. Stay focused since too much edge / anger can quickly become detrimental You’re in it for the long haul. You know it’s going to take time. However, when channeled properly fight response can lead to (positive) confrontation and clarity of what’s next.

Flight. Stay present. Your brain is telling you that you are in danger of COVID-19 and financial doom. It wants to flee. While there may be some truth to the feeling of danger it is completely disproportionate to your reality. Use mindfulness and grounding to get clear on what is triggering your stress response. 1-minute meditations, deep breathing, mindful exercise can all bring you back into the moment. In the present you are likely healthy, with a roof over your head and food in the cupboard. The future is uncertain but accepting that sooner rather than later will help you enter fight mode so you can care for yourself, your family and your community.

Freeze. You must get unstuck. To do so you may need to engage in something completely counterintuitive. Action! Having too much time on our hands due to the pandemic can be retriggering the same freeze response over and over. Start a new workout routine, learn to play an instrument, even reading a book can help you thaw out. By using our bodies to get into action we get our brains to unfreeze

By

Financial Stress in the Time of the Coronavirus

With the President announcing a nationwide state of emergency, there is no doubt that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is having a major impact on our country. Schools, events and businesses have closed across the country, impacting millions of people where they feel it the most, their wallets.

While more and more Americans are living in fear over catching or carrying the virus, millions also are adding financial stress as a leading anxiety as they are losing work, paid gigs, or require childcare. While health is, of course, the primary concern, it is also crucial that the additional financial stress is recognized and addressed.

The government is working on ways to alleviate the financial burden that will be experienced by millions of Americans due to the Corona Virus, however, there are key actions individuals do for themselves to help deal with their financial anxiety.

  1. Acceptance

Acknowledge what you are feeling and move on. The sooner you can get into acceptance, as difficult as it may seem, will make everything else easier. Accepting that we live in a new reality will help you start taking the steps to help yourself. It is a mental pivot that will disengage the emotional part of your brain, which is not helpful in moments like these. Your limbic brain, which is your emotional processing center, is sending out stress alarms to the rest of your mind and body most likely causing a fight, flight or freeze reaction. This is our primal caveman response to stress and keeps us stuck and suffering in anxiety. Acceptance helps you externalize the problem, which allows you to discover the relevant part of your fear. Once you accept the state of the world, you will be able to clearly see how it affects you and by focusing on those items, you will be able to make plans and decisions.

  1. Be Present

Our regrets live in the past, our fears and worries live in the future. In times of high stress staying present in the here and now is the antidote to the ruminating thoughts and negative emotions that are driving the fear. Use mindfulness to scan your body for stress and tension in the moments you are feeling it. This will help you to realize that you are physically safe, and it will help block out the outside chatter that is often amplifying fear, insecurity, and anxiety. Staying present will also provide the mental edge to help yourself and your loved ones when the opportunity presents itself.

  1. Spiritual Solution

When times are tough, turning to a spiritual answer can help provide context and give meaning to your struggle. The context of a higher purpose can right-size your current worries. Human beings make meaning of everything we encounter and this current situation with the Coronavirus is no different. This is a time of struggle for everyone. Struggle can often be unmotivating and depressing, but if you seek an uplifting spiritual solution you will find uplifting and even inspiring moments despite the seeming chaos of our current world.

“Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles. It takes away today’s peace.” ― Randy Armstrong

By

5 ways to conquer money anxiety and set yourself up for financial success, according to mental health experts

Money can make people nervous. You might avoid checking your bank accounts or just assume you’re awful with money, because nobody ever taught you how to handle it. And if that’s you, you aren’t alone. More than 50% of people polled in a 2018 survey from financial services firm Northwestern Mutual reported feeling anxious and insecure around money.

But financial anxiety isn’t insurmountable. Try these five methods mental health professionals recommend to feel more confident around money, so you can manage it effectively and meet your financial goals.

1. Explore your anxiety

To better understand what sparks your anxiety, create a “money map,” suggests Ed Coambs, a certified financial planner and a licensed marriage and family therapist based in North Carolina. Think of this tool as a snapshot of the emotions underlying your financial life.

“The first step is to note all the places money intersects through your life,” he says, such as work, bills, retirement, friends, and vacation. Next, on a scale from 1 to 10, write down how comfortable you are in each area, with 10 being completely comfortable. For lower-scored categories, jot down the emotions that come up.

Coambs recommends asking yourself: “What happened in my past to lead me to feel this way?” Growing up with parents who were spenders or savers can shape our financial behaviors as adults in ways we might not fully realize. For example, psychologist Frank Murtha told Grow last year, “People [who] experience money worries as kids are more likely to carry forward that sense of scarcity and insecurity.”

Understanding when and how your feelings of money anxiety began can help you move forward and create consistent, healthy money habits.

2. Shift your mindset

Worrying that you’re doing money all wrong and will make a mistake leads to avoidance and procrastination, says Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, a Michigan-based couples financial therapist and coach, and the author of “The Financial Anxiety Solution.” When you finally do take action, Bryan-Podvin says there is a tendency for people to feel like they’ve fallen behind, which then “fulfills your original worry.”

To help encourage a more positive mindset, be realistic and kind to yourself. And choose language that feels good to you, says Bryan-Podvin.

Instead of changing “I’m terrible with money” to “I’m amazing with money,” which can feel fake and forced, tell yourself, “I’m working toward understanding money.” Instead of “I’m such an amateur,” say, “This is the first step of my money empowerment journey.”

3. Establish structure

Part of what drives money anxiety for most people is the “fear of the unknown,” or not knowing where your money is going, says Alex Melkumian, a financial therapist and founder of the Financial Psychology Center in Los Angeles.

“Having systems and structure provides containment for our emotions,” says Melkumian. With that in mind, he suggests finding a budget framework — like the 50/20/30 rule budget guideline — that works for you, to give you “the most comprehensive view of what’s coming in and what’s going out.” Automating a specific amount that you save from each paycheck, for example, can make saving and investing easier habits to stick with.

If your anxiety stems from lack of knowledge, Bryan-Podvin recommends tackling a new skill or small task each week, like setting up your 401(k) or learning about how compound interest works. That slow and steady pace prevents you from getting overwhelmed with information — and “over the course of the year, you’ll have learned 52 financial skills.”

4. Don’t go it alone

It’s easier to make changes and adopt an optimistic money mindset when you have support. Melkumian suggests finding an “action buddy” to hold you accountable. For example, you might text them before you make an impulse purchase.

It’s also helpful to make money part of everyday conversation, says Bryan-Podvin, such as, “Congrats on your raise! How did you negotiate that?” or “That’s awesome you got a new car. What dealer did you work with, and what did you think?”

Another simple way to connect with others in the same boat is through social media and following finance-themed hashtags like #debtfreecommunity and #financialfreedom, Bryan-Podvin says.

5. Make it fun

For many of us, money feels serious and tedious, which only amplifies our anxiety and angst. According to Bryan-Podvin, it’s important to make money fun, “otherwise it’s not going to feel good.”

For example, Bryan-Podvin says with that in mind, she and her husband set aside $50 per person each week. They are free to spend that money on whatever they like, no questions asked. It can be used for a spontaneous lunch or dinner out, or even something like a tattoo, which Bryan-Podvin recently saved for over the course of a few months.

Bryan-Podvin helps her clients create shorter-term savings for bigger purchases, such as vacations. “A lot of people think that saving money means they no longer have that money.” But saving for six months for a fulfilling purchase can feel empowering.

Anxiety can easily overwhelm us. But by actively learning new skills and finding a framework that makes you feel confident, you’ll be able to keep moving forward.

Margarita Tartakovsky, MS, is a freelance writer and associate editor at PsychCentral.com. She’s been writing about psychology and mental health for over a decade. You can learn more at https://www.margaritatartakovsky.com.