Key Takeaways
- Financial stress, physical health, and mental health are all linked.
- If you’re experiencing chronic stress, you may end up in a vicious cycle of poor physical and mental health, which leads to more stress.
- Having a budget and making sure you’re saving money are ways to combat this cycle.
Have you ever had a mosquito bite that really itched, but when you scratched it, it just got worse and you had a hard time stopping? It’s a bit of a vicious cycle – the more you scratch, the worse it gets. You just have to force yourself to leave it alone, but it’s not always easy!
Well, this is brings to mind an article from Forbes.com that came out in 2018, “3 Vicious Cycles: Links Among Financial, Physical and Mental Health.” This is something many people can relate to in 2020, as it’s been a particularly stressful year thus far, with the entire world battling this pandemic. The resulting stress, if left unchecked, can lead to vicious cycles affecting physical and mental health, which then lead to more stress.
The article details a survey on financial stress, which showed that those with high amounts of financial stress experienced more back pain, digestive problems, depression, anxiety, migraines, insomnia, and had higher blood pressure and more heart problems than those with low amounts of financial stress. The inability to pay for healthcare can cause those with money problems to delay receiving necessary care…which leads to a continuing spiral of worsening health.
These cycles are apparent in the financial wellness world, where we see the effects of financial stress appear in four ways in employees: higher absenteeism, lower productivity, increased safety issues, and higher turnover. And of course, if you’re not a reliable, high-performing employee, you run a strong risk of losing your job, which only leads to more financial stress.
So, what’s the best way to break these vicious cycles? It’s the number one rule for building wealth: save first and spend second. How do you make sure you’re doing that? Create a budget! If you’re unsure where to begin, here’s a budget worksheet to use to help you start figuring out how to have more money coming in than going out.
Once you take this step towards being more financially well, you’ll find yourself leaving those vicious cycles behind. Your mental and physical health will thank you for it. Until next time, enjoy.
