It has been proved beyond doubt that debt could trigger anxiety, stress, and may end up causing depression. It is, however, a fact that not everybody would be suffering from depression because of the vicious cycle of debts. Financial stress associated with ever-mounting debts could cause depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, insomnia, or even substance abuse. Overpowering debts could ruin your mental health due to the never-ending financial stress. You know that debts are bound to hurt your financial health which in turn hurts your physical and mental health. Debts have been responsible for triggering depression in many people.
Depression is quite a serious but common medical illness that would negatively impact the way you feel, or how you think or act. Fortunately, depression is a mental condition that is treatable. Depression triggers feelings of intense sadness, no interest in any activities that were once enjoyed. Depression could culminate in a host of physical and emotional issues and could adversely impact a person’s ability, efficiency, and productivity at work or at home.
Depression is a condition which is quite difficult to recognize or understand. As such, it is crucial to know everything about it and try raising its awareness wherever possible. Remember depression never happens overnight. It would be building up over time. There are severe, moderate, and mild forms of depression. In certain severe depression cases, there would be suicidal tendencies. Let us explore some of the core symptoms related to depression. Here are some symptoms that you should be watching out for if you are down, depressed, and distressed with the burden of overpowering debts.
- In a perpetually depressed mood or feeling sad.
- Loss of pleasure or interest in activities that were loved and enjoyed before.
- Oversleeping or having trouble in getting enough sleep.
- Changes in appetite.
- Weight gain or loss not associated with dieting.
- Increased exhaustion or fatigue and tremendous loss of energy.
- Indulging more in purposeless physical activity.
- Feeling guilty or worthless.
- Difficulty concentrating, thinking, focusing, and making decisions.
- Thoughts of suicide or death.
As per https://www.forbes.com, “The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 19 million Americans suffer from depression. At some point in their lives, 10%-25% of women and 5%-12% of men will become clinically depressed. This is no fashionable affliction; it is a dangerous and debilitating one. Yet far too many people are oblivious to their own deep sadness or simply refuse to recognize it.” Remember denial and ignorance are certainly not cures; however, they are guarantees that you would be in a lot more difficult situation when recognition of the issue finally kicks in as compared to the time when you first started suppressing the issue.
Tips to Overcome Depression Due to Overwhelming Debts
Be Determined to Face the Reality Even If that Is Upsetting
Are you avoiding or ignoring the credit card bills? Are you scared to know how much debt has got accumulated in your accounts? You must be overstressed to see the interest rates and charges and so you try to ignore the outstanding balance. You have been avoiding these things simply because you are immensely depressed as a result of overpowering debts and lack of financial support or resources to pay off the pending credit card debts. If you want to put an end to your depression issue and the associated medical or health concerns and consequences, you need to examine meticulously all your existing bills and debts. The best way to tackle depression is by understanding all your debts. Know all your existing debts, understand all the related terms and conditions, know the precise interest rates etc. if you wish to be on the road to recovery from overwhelming debts and depression. Remember debts are difficult but very much doable.
Remember to Choose the Debt Relief Method that Gives You Minimum Anxiety
Once you know the exact amount of debts and your creditors, you are ready for the next critical step. You need to choose an effective debt repayment method. You may choose debt consolidation or debt settlement as per your unique requirements. Two of the most popular and frequently used methods that help in the elimination of debts are:
Snowball Method: This effective debt reduction strategy involves making your minimum payments consistently on all your existing debts then throwing the remaining money towards the payment of your smallest balance. Once your smallest debt is repaid, you need to proceed to your next smallest debt among your remaining debts. This way you would be getting rid all your debts by effectively eliminating your debts from the smallest to finally the largest debt.
Debt Stacking or Debt Avalanche Method: This process involves making your minimum payments consistently on all your currently existing debts then diverting the remaining money towards repaying your largest debt or debt with the highest interest rate. From the financial perspective, debt stacking is supposed to be your best bet since it would be saving you the maximum amount in terms of interest payments.
According to experts, your mind would not be operating solely on logic. If you are thinking of tackling a large balance on the existing highest interest loan, obviously, it would be taking a reasonably long time to get rid of that debt. This process could prove to be utterly frustrating. Many individuals experience incredible anxiety simply by calculating debts using debt payoff calculators online or Excel. If you seem to be excessively flabbergasted and do not wish to do your math, it is best to concentrate on repaying your smaller debts first. Browse through reputed sites such as Nationaldebtreliefprograms.com for learning more about perfect debt elimination solutions.
Avoid Debts in Future by Not Getting Tempted to Start Using a Credit Card Again
Using any of the above-discussed methods, you would be able to successfully pay off and eliminate debt. This could be a dangerous situation from a psychological perspective. It is human nature that once you attain or fulfill a sub-goal, such as repaying a single debt; you would feel like rejoicing and celebrating. You must never forget that you have a more crucial goal to achieve that is to eliminate all your existing debts one by one till you are completely debt-free. Many of you start buying a flight ticket or invest in a new television using a credit card once again when they find a zero on their credit card statement.
Conclusion: Happiness Is Staying Out of Debt & Keeping Depression at Bay
When you are suffering from depression, you may think that retail therapy could improve your state of mind. Often shopping could prove to be an effective remedy for sadness triggered by depression. It may restore a feeling that you are in control or in charge of your environment. This could give you immense happiness and a false feeling of victory against all odds. You may indulge in retail therapy but stick to buying things that you could afford to pay right at the register. Stay away from using plastic money otherwise, you would be finding yourself very much in debt once again in no time, and the vicious cycle of depression and anxiety would be starting all over again.