Pandemic financial stress: effects and what we can do

Mental health has gone badly wrong for many during the pandemic, but these experiences are especially more acute among those who are less fortunate. Among American adults aged 18 or older, the prevalence of symptoms of depression was more than three times higher during the Covid-19 pandemic than before, according to a September 2020 study. Plus, lower income, less $ 5,000 in savings and exposure to more stressors such as job loss were linked to a 50% higher risk of symptoms of depression during the pandemic.

And financial instability can, of course, also have a more immediate impact on physical health. More than a year after the start of the pandemic, some adults still worry daily about being able to afford housing, to feed themselves and their families, and to pay for health care for themselves and their families. Some readers told CNN Business how their financial anxieties manifested in the form of irritability, depression, heavy drinking, dark thoughts and hopelessness.

“We have studies that were done in the aftermath of the financial crisis (2007-2009),” said Klontz, associate professor of practice in financial psychology and behavioral finance at Heider College of Business at Creighton University in Nebraska. .

“At the individual level, financial stress is associated with depression, anxiety and relationship problems. But we’ve also seen it collectively when a community is hit by foreclosures. Even if your house isn’t foreclosed, there is this collective stress that everyone feels, and hospital rates tend to go up. “

When crises breed perpetual fear

Soon after, there hadn’t been a lot of research into the mental health implications because “we didn’t really define trauma or post-traumatic stress as really a problem,” Klontz said. For the record, it “led to a traumatic experience for many people. And, if you know anyone who has been through it, it has created a whole generation of hoarders who fear they won’t have enough to. the future – so, a lot of anxiety, like a mentality and a state of mind of scarcity and a deep fear of not having enough that seemed to kind of run through the whole culture. “

After Klontz’s grandfather lost all of his money when the banks collapsed during the Depression, he was so traumatized that he never put a dollar in the bank for the rest of his life, instead using a safe, Klontz said.

Experts have advice on how you can notice if you are heading down this path, and how to deal both mentally and practically during this time.

The border between normal and dysfunctional

Holding on rigidly to beliefs about who or what you can trust and how the world works, despite conflicting evidence or possibilities, is a sign that normal anxieties stemming from a stressful financial situation are starting to set in. gain the upper hand, Klontz said. Other signs include problems in your relationship, the ability to sleep at night, and emotional functioning, Klontz said.

“When you see manifestations of hoarding and you see compulsive gambling, compulsive shopping, 80% of people who exhibit these types of behaviors also have a history of trauma,” Klontz said.

It’s a “common reaction to going through a time of scarcity and trauma and being afraid of not having enough,” he added. “It’s the brain’s response to try to survive and make sure you’re safe.”

The impetus for dysfunctional behavior in this context is often a worry around a stressful or traumatic financial issue, and then the worry becomes “really hard to shake,” Klontz said. “For example, growing up in poverty, the belief is that there is not enough money or that there will never be enough.”

“If it’s really emotional, one of two things will happen: People will become the Ebenezer Scrooge type, where it’s like they’re so afraid of not having enough that they might. … Earn money, but they will never be able to enjoy life so that’s where they accumulate money, they put it aside because they’re so scared, ”Klontz explained. ‘Conversely, this belief can lead to learned helplessness in which someone thinks,’ If there will never be enough money, why bother trying? ‘he added. , if I can get a credit card, I’ll run it. ‘”

These are symptoms of “late grief,” when you “are unwilling to accept or discuss the deep emotion you feel,” said Sonya Lutter, professor in the department of applied humanities at Kansas State University. and certified financial planner. Until you recognize these emotions and worries, she added, you can approach them with superficial things that make you feel good temporarily.

Adaptation and resources for affordable support

Another way to prevent or stop catastrophic thinking is to practice mental flexibility so that you can adapt to changing circumstances, Klontz said. If you had lived through the Great Depression and concluded that you could never trust banks with your money again, for example, you would write your belief in a paragraph and then analyze it.

“To make it more specific, it’s like, ‘Well, sometimes you can’t trust the banks with your money. And these are the circumstances under which you can, and these are the circumstances under which you cannot. not, ”Klontz said. . This way, you don’t rely on partial truths under all circumstances.