228 National Financial Literacy Month - Day 21 - The Impact Your Finances Have On Your Mental Health

Learn about Paul Lawrence Vann's digital Financial Fitness
course, it is being offered at a 50% discount throughout the
month of April, National Financial Literacy Month, here is the
link:  https://bit.ly/3dbperG


Make no mistake about it, money problems and mental health issues
are intrinsically linked. Research from the 2008 great recession
and COVID-19 reflect the link between finances and mental health.


According to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute¹, poor
finances often lead to stress and anxiety that can further impact
finances.


Facts: 


46 percent of people with debt also have a mental health
diagnosis

86 percent of people with mental health issues and debt say
that their debt makes their mental health issues worse

People with depression and debt are 4.2 more likely to still
have debt at 18-months compared to their counterparts without
debt

Those with debt are three times more likely to contemplate
suicide due to that debt



The Cycle:
Mental health problems make it harder to earn, manage money and
spending, and to ask for help.Financial difficultyFinancial
difficulty causes stress and anxiety, made worst by collections
activity or going without essentialsMental health
 problemsThis cycle repeats itself over and over again

Americans suffer from financial stress. A Harris Poll conducted
in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic showed that 90
percent of Americans felt financial stress.  Note that
financial stress is not limited to hard economic times, such as
the fallout from a pandemic.


a Northwestern Mutual study found that 44 percent of Americans
stated that financial concerns were their number one stressor,
with more than one in four feeling depressed about finances at
least monthly and two out of ten feeling depressed weekly, daily,
or hourly.


Continuous financial stress wreaks havoc with mental health. On
the Mayo Clinic’s website5, the list of mental health issues due
to stress includes:


Anxiety

Depression

Fatigue

Sleeplessness



The American Psychological Association (APA)6 found that stress
can lead to unhealthy habits, including excessive drinking and
drug use.


Continuous financial stress wreaks havoc with mental health. On
the Mayo Clinic’s website5, the list of mental health issues due
to stress includes:


Anxiety

Depression

Fatigue

Sleeplessness



The American Psychological Association (APA)6 found that stress
can lead to unhealthy habits, including excessive drinking and
drug use.


Financial stress can impact employers too. That is because
financial stress manifests itself in a variety of ways in the
workplace, such as7:


Daily tasks going unfinished

Lower quality work

Poorer relationships with co-workers

Indications that an employee is seeking other employment



When this happens, employers suffer increased costs from
absenteeism, presenteeism, high turnover, high healthcare costs,
more on-the-job accidents, less participation in 401(k) benefits,
and more.


According to Salary Finance8, these issues related to financial
stress cost businesses about $3,000 per employee per year. 


With a financial wellness program created specifically for your
employees and their individualized needs, employers can help
lessen employee financial stress and improve mental health by
providing ways to learn important financial management skills and
behaviors.