Stressful Financial Situations and How to Cope

Our finances are generally the biggest sources of stress in our lives. Why? When our finances are in order, our lives are stable and predictable. When we’re faced with challenges and hardships, however, it often impacts all facets of our lives, creating overwhelming stress and anxiety that can be difficult to navigate. Are you facing stressful financial situations in your life? If so, here are some tips on how to cope with these situations when they arise and work towards a better tomorrow.

Reach out for professional help.

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Stress can have a major impact on your mental health, especially when your situation is so serious that your excessive worry begins developing into serious mental health conditions like anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or major depressive disorder. The first step to take when you feel as though you may be dealing with issues that are not indicative of stress is to look for symptoms of anxiety or depression such as feelings of restlessness, changes in mood, signs of panic attacks, and fatigue, just to name a few.

If you feel like you can relate to some of the above symptoms, you should absolutely reach out to mental health professional that can help you work through these anxiety symptoms with the support of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and medication, if necessary. Does therapy work for anxiety? Absolutely! Whether it’s CBT, exposure therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, or another type of therapy, a psychologist or therapist can work with you to better help you understand your condition, tackle the roots that trigger your symptoms, and work towards a healthier way of life.

These types of strategies are effective for a wide range of conditions too, from PTSD to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to social anxiety disorder. No matter what you’re dealing with, now is the perfect time to ask for help!

Take a moment to breathe and come up with potential solutions.

Let’s imagine that, for a living, you invest in real estate, fix it up, and then rent out these rental properties. However, you’ve recently run into issues securing funding from traditional lenders to improve your investment property, causing you a great deal of stress and making you think that your world is coming to an end.

The most important thing to do when you find yourself faced with a financial problem that causes you stress is to breathe. Remind yourself that this is not the end of the world and that there are ways to work around these issues. Then, once you feel more grounded, ask yourself, what is the potential solution?

For example, if you can’t secure a traditional loan, turning to a hard money lender who can give you the type of loan you need for your fix and flip or house rehab is one path to work around the problem that you’re facing. No matter what it is you’re dealing with, there’s almost always a solution!

Practice self-care and allow yourself to separate from the situation.

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Hyper focusing on your source of stress is only going to lead to more stress. Instead, make it a point to practice self-care and step away from your stress for a bit. Whether this means taking a warm bath with some of your favorite bath bombs and flowers, watching some of your favorite movies, or turning to your faith for support, there are plenty of ways to give you the break that you need before you reassess the situation and come up with a plan of action.

When we’re faced with serious financial situations, stress is the natural response. However, it’s important that we find ways to cope with this stress and remedy the situation so that it doesn’t consume us. If you’re currently dealing with financial hardship in your life and it’s greatly affecting your mental state, use the guide above to learn more about how you can cope with these developments more effectively.