Now that you have an idea of what anxiety is defined as, what some symptoms are, and know that it is in fact a mental illness you must now see how financial woes that lead to high anxiety or worry can be detrimental to your overall health if it not tended to. The problem with mental illnesses such as anxiety is if they go untreated they will not only have a negative impact on the mind, but will also have an impact on your physical health as well. Anxiety is now being implicated in many chronic physical illnesses such as heart disease, chronic respiratory disorders, and gastrointestinal conditions to name a few. When the anxiety is untreated these types of diseases are more difficult to treat, the physical symptoms of the disease become worse, and in some cases may lead to earlier death. So it is imperative that the mental illnesses such as anxiety are treated because they can impact your health and your daily functionality. We as a community must do more to educate ourselves on our overall health. We tend to go until it is too late before we decide to get checked out or seek professional health. The African American community has been conditioned over the years to be overly private and super prideful. It’s amazing how our numbers are so much worse than any other race in many categories as it pertains to not only physical health but mental health as well. Why? As I just stated…we don’t want people in our business or we don’t want to be portrayed as weak so we would prefer to not seek help that could possible make us better or more importantly keep us alive.
Now, getting back to the matter at hand. As it pertains to money and anxiety…how do you manage the stress of having money woes? First and foremost in order to manage the stress you have to understand what it is about your financial issues that is stressing you. Are you living outside your means? Are you unemployed? Are you underemployed? Do you have a lot of unexpected things to come up that becomes a burden to your pockets? Once you understand the why and the what you must then come up with a plan to get rid of those questions. Easier than said than done right? I know this, but regardless of how it looks in order to eliminate the stress you must take action. Writing out your plan or seeking free consultations from financial advisor or someone with financial expertise will be important. The over extender must learn to budget. You have to thoroughly access what you are spending your money on and determine how to cut out the unnecessary spending. Dare to spend money on cheaper items. You don’t always have to purchase the biggest, fanciest, or shiniest items out there. Cook meals instead of eating out. Go green by finding ways to save on household expenses. Leave credit cards at home and only use cash when you’re out. If you spend all the money on you then that’s that…you won’t have to worry with overextending at that point. You must be honest with yourself. A lot of times we find ourselves financially stressed because we fail to plan, manage, and refrain. You have to be open to advice or seeking help when it comes to improving upon your financial situations. You have to be able to change your mindset in order to overcome the stress. Stop worrying about what the Jones’s are doing. You must learn to stop feeding your anxiety when it comes to financial stress and burdens. In closing…whatever it is that is causing any form of anxiety such as financial stresses may also require you to seek help in learning ways to eliminate then. You don’t have to go at it alone…someone will help you obtain that peace of mind.