Have Financial Phobia?
With increasing levels of personal debt that is reported, along with a record number of bankruptcies and insolvencies, it is no surprise to anyone that money is becoming a major problem for thousands if not millions of people.
Most of us would be “money problems” with “problems of debt, and high levels of debt service made it a major cause of worry and stress for those of us who have given perhaps too much in the past.
There are other problems of money that does not get very much publicity. It’s called Financial Phobia, and is a real medical condition that causes untold problems for its victims.
Recent research has suggested that up to 20% of adults have total financial phobia, and almost half of the population show some signs of a milder version of the condition.
The victims have a hard time keeping track of their finances, including the ability to do simple things like open bank accounts because their feelings of anxiety, nausea, and even – in the worst case scenario – total panic attacks. They do not like check your bank balance, put off paying bills, and in extreme cases be avoided completely opening the mail and throw it away rather than deal with the content.
So what causes this condition? One of the main triggers is the meaning of the finances are out of control, sometimes through debt, but also for having a bad experience with the finances and the loss of money in a bad investment, or to follow a bad advice. The victims of mis-selling of inappropriate products may lose confidence in banks and, by extension, the whole realm of finance.
The irony is that by avoiding paying attention to their financial situation, the victims tend to make matters worse, since you can not pick up on problems from the beginning. arrears, for example, can go from being a minor issue to a cause of legal action if they are ignored and not addressed.
As your financial situation deteriorates, the feeling of being out of control increases, leading to a vicious circle in which other problems can arise as a full depression. Then, there is a way out?
As with all genuine phobias, counseling may be needed if the problem has gotten out of hand, along with professional help from counselors financial debt that is usually available for free from charities.
However, people in the early stages of the disease can help stop the deterioration of the situation starting to get back on top of your finances, fighting their urges to ignore the problem and begin to address the underlying causes, such as debt.