It probably won’t surprise anyone who’s dealing with more debt than they can handle that it can have an effect on a person’s emotional well-being. The impact of significant debt has been studied by mental health professionals.
People who are overwhelmed by their debt can suffer from myriad issues. These include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Anger
- Regret
- Embarrassment
All of these can impact a person’s physical health and cognitive wellness.
Are you living in financial denial?
Not surprisingly, no one wants to feel any of these things. They also don’t want to deal with the constant calls and other communications from collectors, the credit card balances that never seem to get lower even when they make payments and the overdraft charges. Then, there are the returned checks on their checking account and the threat of foreclosure looming over their head. That’s one reason why many people deal with debt by living in denial.
People often don’t realize they’re in denial about a difficult situation. That’s part of the denial. Ask yourself a few questions:
- Do you ignore or block calls from collectors?
- Do you look only at the minimum due on your credit card bill and ignore the balance, interest charges and new charges?
- Do you even know what your total assets and debts are?
- Do you buy nearly everything with credit cards so you rarely feel like you’re actually spending money?
If you’re many thousands of dollars in debt, it’s not going to disappear unless you receive an unexpected inheritance, win the lottery or have some other unlikely influx of money. If you face your debt head-on, you can start taking steps that will require you to move out of denial but also help you feel empowered.
While you may never have considered bankruptcy, more and more people are choosing either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 to help take control of their finances and rebuild their credit. Just learning more about the options available can help you take the first step toward putting your mountain of debt behind you.