Experiencing financial hard times isn’t only hard on your wallet – it can also be hard on your mental health. Keeping a watchful eye is important for a variety of reasons, but one of the most important reasons of all is because experiencing financial issues can seriously impact the way you think, act, and feel. 

While different people can experience mental health effects differently, consider these common ways people experience mental health struggles due to money issues.

Way 1: They struggle to understand their emotions. 

Experiencing financial issues can stir a lot of different emotions. In the face of a financial crisis, a person may experience terror, sadness, anger, frustration, guilt, and beyond. With all these different emotions happening, it can be challenging for a person to understand exactly what they’re feeling and why. 

Struggling with complex, complicated emotions can lead to negative mental health impacts. For example, some people may feel tempted to ignore or hide their complicated emotions instead of exploring them. While it may seem smart to ignore those emotions, it causes more harm than good – often, hidden or ignored emotions tend to return even stronger and more vitriolic than they originally felt.

Way 2: Their personal relationships may be impacted by financial issues. 

People depend on others for survival. Human beings are naturally social creatures who value community and relationships. Depending on the type of financial struggles a person experiences (and if they’re experiencing them with someone else), they may notice their finances beginning to affect their relationships with other people. Feeling relationship strains from money problems can make a massively negative impact on mental health – not only are they worried about money when this happens, but they’re also concerned about the state of their relationship with another person.

Way 3: They feel like they’re lacking access to their basic needs.

One of the simplest, most common ways financial hard times negatively impacts mental health is the lack of access to basic needs and what that can cause a person to experience. Struggling to make ends meet could mean that bills go unpaid, groceries go unpurchased, and necessities go unstocked. Without access to food, shelter, and clothing, people can experience major negative mental health impacts. In these scenarios, people struggle more than just stress of not having enough money – they also experience the stress of not being able to perform simple self care tasks, such as cleaning or protecting themselves.

Way 4: They struggle under excessive amounts of anxiety and stress. 

People having problems with their mental health because of financial hard times are likely experiencing some anxiety and stress. Feeling anxious and stressed out long enough can cause a lot of harsh effects to the mind and body. Not only does excessive anxiety and stress create horrible mental health issues, but they can also make the body feel physically ill. A person struggling with anxiety and stress may also have issues with their circulatory system, their digestive system, their sleeping patterns, and beyond.

Way 5: They feel hopeless or depressed about their financial situation. 

Financial hard times – particularly if the problems become extreme enough – can make a person feel totally and utterly hopeless. When financial issues escalate to an extreme, complicated mess, the idea of fixing them can feel totally out of reach. 

When a person begins to feel this way concerning their financial problems, they may begin to feel totally hopeless or depressed over the whole ordeal. Their mental health suffers greatly under this mindset, and they may feel like trying to figure out the problems is a pointless endeavor.