A recent survey published by Thrive Global and Discover, found that 90% of the participants cited money as a source of financial stress. Did you know, when financial stress becomes chronic, it can impact your health? Here’s what you need to know and do!
What Do The Numbers Say?
Data collected in 2019 by Everyday Health for the United States of Stress surveyed over 6,700 men and women, and it was found that money was their number one source of stress, with 52% of people saying financial issues regularly stressed them out. And mind you, this was before the global pandemic that shook the job market. The pandemic resulted in the United States and many other countries worldwide hitting record-high inflation rates. The recent numbers are even worse.
Capital One has released the results of a new CreditWise survey, where the results found that 77% of Americans report feeling anxious about their finances, and 52% found it difficult to control their money-related worries. Another common trend? The younger generation accounts for the most stressed group, with 82% of Gen-Zers and 81% of millennials saying finances leave them extremely stressed.
Within the 2023 study, 65% reported feeling that their financial difficulties are piling up so much that they feel they can’t overcome them, and 40% wish that they could have a financial “fresh start”.
What Causes Financial Stress?
While the premise of it is money and well-being, financial stress is dependent on two main factors, namely:
- Contextual Factors: These are societal-level influences on the current financial state of your country or state. These influences include the rates of economic growth, governmental and political policy, market performance, and even the distribution of wealth. While these factors may vary, their context remains the same. If an economy is dwindling, and interest rates are constantly on the rise, this has an impact on the everyday person, thereby taking a toll on them and their overall health.
- Personal Factors: These factors are unique to each person. From age and gender to education and ethnic groups, these demographic characteristics link with financial literacy and practice skills, which basically influence behavior and perception, forming a basis for how well they are able to manage their finances.
Risk Factors
- Anxiety: Financial anxiety is more than just worrying about how much money we have in the bank. Corbin Blackwell, a certified financial planner at Betterment, explains it as “a deeper and more generalized anxiety about obsessing over your finances and how everything in your life impacts it.”According to Blackwell, common triggers include a potential job loss, a lack of personal finance education, and uncertainty about paying off your debts. While everyone has anxiety from time to time, financial stress can cause chronic anxiety, causing your brain to release stress hormones on a regular basis. This affects your cardiovascular system, causing rapid heart rate, chest pain, constant headaches, and an increased risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.
- Depression: The social and economic determinants of depression include proximal factors such as unemployment, low socioeconomic status, and distal factors such as income inequality. Studies have shown a link between depression and financial stress. Research has found that poor financial health directly leads to poor financial health. Symptoms range from persistent emptiness to fatigue, and difficulty in making decisions.
- Exacerbating Diabetes: Half of U.S. adults with diabetes report experiencing financial stress, and nearly a quarter of them experience high out-of-pocket healthcare costs and food insecurity. On average, people with diabetes have medical expenses which are about twice as high as similar individuals without diabetes.A 2021 study found that 1 in 5 adults who used insulin reported rationing their supplies, from skipping and delaying, to using less than the required dose to save money.
Other health risks include:
- Insomnia: This lack of sleep creates a feedback loop since less sleep makes it harder for you to deal with the effects of stress. This could potentially exacerbate your stress levels
- Gastrointestinal problems: Sleep can cause a decrease in blood flow and oxygen to the stomach, which leads to increased cramping, inflammation, and gut bacteria imbalance. It can also exacerbate gastrointestinal disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
- Developing an eating disorder
- Hypertension
- High cholesterol
- Muscle pain
How To Alleviate Money Worries
While financial stress can be a motivator, it becomes an issue once it takes on a debilitating nature. However, there are a few things that financial experts advise we implement into our lives to ensure financial stress is kept at a minimum.
For Yourself:
- Identify your top sources of financial stress: Start by identifying the specific financial issues that contribute to your stress. Pinpointing the source of your stress will help you determine your next move, making finding a solution easier.
- Create a monthly budget: This is a powerful tool to not only help you understand your finances but also take control of them. This helps you avoid overspending while helping you save up for future goals. When you’re able to identify where your money is going, it allows you to redirect it to the areas causing you financial stress.
For Your Family:
- Draw Up A Will: The death of a primary breadwinner can be a major source of financial stress, keeping the stress cycle going. One of the best ways to combat this is by drawing up a will.
The Deep Roots of Financial Stress
There’s no escaping financial stress in this ever-changing economy, and certain factors make people more prone to it across the globe. From disparities in gender and ethnicity to financial education, or the lack thereof.
The factors contributing to the predisposition of these groups are stacked up. However, one way to alleviate financial stress is through the steps we take individually. This will ensure it doesn’t have a debilitating effect and leaves your health and well-being suffering.
MAIN IMAGE CREDIT:Photo by Fabian Blank on Unsplash
References
- CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/select/why-americans-are-stressed-about-money/
- Guan, N., Guariglia, A., Moore, P., Xu, F. and Al-Janabi, H., 2022. Financial stress and depression in adults: A systematic review. PloS one, 17(2), p.e0264041.
- White Jr, K.J., 2022. Financial stress and the relative income hypothesis among Black college students. In Key Topics in Consumer Behavior (pp. 1-8). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
