There are all kinds of things out there that can affect your health, and some are better for you than others, but stress is often the top most detrimental factor. And when it comes to stress, there’s one thing we stress about more than anything else: money.
Money is often described as ‘the root of all evil’, and sure, it often feels that way. But we wouldn’t be the same without any money in our pockets, and it’s a fact of life that we have to use it.
But money stress can take a real toll on your health. And seeing as those tolls can be significant, let’s go through a few of the main stress related factors below.
Yes, There’s a Beneficial Effect
Of course, stress can be beneficial for us, and human beings are naturally prime to deal with a bit of stress. For example, say there’s a debt collection agency trying to get in contact with you, and naturally, you’re starting to worry. However, thanks to our rational minds and thought processes, we could still pick up the phone and see what they have to say, simply because we know not to think the worst!
And because of this, money stress can often drive us to keep going. It drives us to do better at work, and secure that promotion and/or pay rise. It drives us to open up a savings account and maintain a healthy balance within it. And most of all, it can help us to put down a deposit on the home of our dreams, all because we know the value of money, and we’ve worked hard enough to gather what we need to live in the place we’d love to live in the most.
Yet… It Can Lead to Chronic Issues
But on the other side of this, money stress can be overwhelming, and there are some very obvious downsides to feeling it bear down on your shoulders. Sometimes known as ‘bad stress’ which doesn’t do much to drive us and just sends us into a stressed or depressed spiral, money can be at the root of our issues. And in the long term, this can lead to some chronic disorders.
You can start to have heart problems, or suffer from a bit of forgetfulness every now and then, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a person who likes the idea of living paycheck to paycheck. People in low income households will often present with more stress related conditions, such as heart disease or hypertension, simply because they have no safety net to fall back on.
They have friends in the same position, and no job security, and that’s no good for the health of anyone. So, be sure to keep this in mind the next time you hear or see someone being worried about their financial prospects.
All in all, money stress can do both good and bad things for our health, both physically and mentally.
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