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Losing a substantial amount of funds or learning about an unforeseen loss of income can be the cause of strife and mental distress. It can lead to severe emotional and financial consequences and affect your relationships with your family, friends, or significant other. The loss can even make you re-evaluate your entire life and future.
Studies show that a financial loss of this degree drastically increases the chances of developing depression or anxiety. Fortunately, you can take steps to mitigate its effect on your mental health.
1. Accept that it happened
As always, the first step to recovery is acceptance. Denial is often used as a defence mechanism when dealing with traumatic events. It is used as a numbing agent, so negative feelings like pain and anger won’t affect you. However, the only way to handle this loss properly is if you accept the truth of the matter. It’s also crucial to do so to move forward with financial planning.
Don’t try and invalidate your feelings regarding this situation. Grief is still grief – no matter what the catalyst. Acknowledge your sadness at the moment and prepare to move forward.
2. Seek help
The emotional and mental taxation that comes with a financial loss can cause mental health conditions like depression and anxiety to develop. It’s essential that you learn about the symptoms of these conditions so you can get help when you need it.
If you are experiencing severe emotional fluctuations or emotional reactions that persist for more than a few weeks, are unable to be productive, are abusing substances to cope, or having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, it might be time to get professional help.
It can also help to speak to trusted people about your feelings to aid in processing your grief.
3. Re-do your budget
Procrastinating your budget remake and paying your bills is not a sound strategy for recovery. Avoidance of the issue only elongates the consequences and impedes the healing process. Count all your current expenses and rearrange your priorities to see what needs to be taken care of first. You can also see where you can free up some money by cutting back on expenditures.
Once you see things practically and find some control over the situation, you will start feeling relieved of anxiety and stress. Even if the loss isn’t going to be recuperated any time soon, taking action to fix that can go a long way.
4. Learn from your mistakes
Making financial missteps are extremely common. These setbacks are inevitable for most people, and dwelling on what you could have done differently is not beneficial in the slightest. Instead, understand your mistakes and why you made them so you won’t repeat them in the future. Accept what you’ve done without criticising yourself and divert that energy towards fixing things. Being overly critical of yourself can only lead to a worsened mental state and unhelpful coping behaviours.
Conclusion
Financial loss can be gutting and changes the trajectory of your entire life. In light of that, it’s no wonder mental health issues can crop up and exacerbate when not careful. It’s important that you take this time to recover, so you’re prepared to thrive in adversarial times.
A Space Between wants you to take your mental health seriously. That’s why we facilitate spaces for mental health services like family therapy sessions, couples therapy, and individual therapy and match you with the qualified therapists to provide the help you need. Contact us today to learn more.
No matter what you’re facing, perhaps our website can offer up some solace or comfort. Know that you’re not alone, and that there is help available. This can be hard to keep in mind if you haven’t quite found the right support system. While it’s definitely not easy to find the right fit—whether you’re looking for a support group or a mental health provider—with diligence, it’s totally possible.
If you are a therapist, life coach or counsellor looking to join our growing community, head over to book a tour once you have learnt about the plans we offer. At A Space Between, there is a ready league of providers you can network with. With professionals from various backgrounds and therapy practices, there are bound to be the ones you can connect with. Private practice does not have to be lonely.
