Monday, February 15, 2010

Dealing With the Stress of Debt

For the past year or so, I have been on an emotional roller coaster when it came to dealing with my huge debt. I would stress myself out just by thinking about how much debt I still owed and that it would take forever to pay it off. Every time I made a payment to a credit card, I would be elated and then I would see how little of a difference that payment made. It was ups and downs for the better part of year and then the stress started to affect my health. I would not sleep through the night or my mind would wander at work which increased my stress level. Eventually I went to my doctor to see if he could help, and he had a great idea. 
My doctor suggested I go see a therapist. Now, where I grew up a therapist was for someone who had mental issues and multiple personalities. I was very hesitant about going but go I went. The first few months didn’t help much but that was mainly because I was so reluctant to expose my failings to another. I was not worried about the cost because in my opinion, when it comes to health there is no price tag too high...you only get on life. Slowly but surely I started to open up and explain my situation to my therapist. It was a hard road to walk down. I had to own up to my credit card purchases, the poor financial decisions I made in the past decade, and face the facts that I was the only person responsible for it. 
Now, because of my therapist, I am less stressed about money and finances in general. I know its not going to happen overnight but eventually I will be debt free. I have a plan and knowing that has allowed me to sleep at night. A therapist might not be for you but talking about your financial situation will help in the long run. It gives you a starting point because you can’t hide from your debt even if you hide it from everyone else. The debt will still be there but now it doesn’t control you, you control it. 

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