Not so long back, while I was performing a couple of searches on the Internet, I discovered one more site giving sufferers of stressful illnesses inaccurate, flawed and unhelpful information that will do nothing to help with stress, depression or anxiety. Briefly, the website made the following assertion:
“Problems with finances are the main reason why most people are suffering from stress, depression or anxiety. Debt is a big problem for a lot of people, and many struggle to service debts because they are on a low income. Other factors include poverty, unemployment, and a feeling of worthlessness because financial aspirations haven’t been met. Concerns about finances are a major factor in causing stressful illnesses throughout the developed world.”
I’ve come across this sort of information in both the online and offline worlds, from health counselors and therapists to sufferers. I’m sure you too will have either been told money is the root cause of your problems or heard it from various sources.
To state that the root cause of stressful illnesses lies in concerns over money is not accurate, in fact, it is completely false. You cannot become stressed, anxious or depressed because of your financial situation no matter what state it may be in. In fact, they have NOTHING to do with the root cause of these problems WHATSOEVER.
It’s such a simple fact to prove I can’t understand why anyone still believes differently.
Here’s a simple question:
If financial hardships and poverty cause people to enter into an episode of mental trauma, then does this mean that anyone who is poor, is in debt, or earns a low income must, by definition, be stressed, depressed or anxious? You are saying that if you are poor you must be stressed, depressed or anxious. Agreed?
Following on from this, logic would then dictate:
Should an individual attain wealth, have little or no debts, and earn good money, such a person is not going to suffer from stress and related illnesses as the root cause is missing from their life.
In a nutshell: Poverty causes stress, depression and anxiety. Being well off doesn’t.
Reality clearly does not bear this out.
Not everybody who has debts, earns a minimum wage, is poor and endures financial hardship is stressed, depressed or anxious. Indeed, many people throughout the world live in extreme poverty and yet they’re happy. I’m certain both you and I have met people in life who have very little yet they’re contented with their lives.
And let’s not forget that many famous, wealthy people also suffer from stress, depression and anxiety. Abraham Lincoln, Rod Steiger, Winston Churchill, Robbie Williams are names that spring immediately to mind. With my situation, I’d hit rock-bottom with depression having just become completely free of debt and I also had savings and a good income.
It all meant nothing to me.
The last line also gives an insight into how self-worth doesn’t derive from financial success. In those days, I drove a very nice sports car paid for in cash, had a couple of properties with mortgages paid off and cash in the bank however, each and every one of the people I loved were no longer in my life and I was convinced there was no point to living, I’d totally wrecked my life, it could never be fixed and I could no longer continue.
All of this demonstrates that money worries are nothing to do with the root cause of stressful illnesses. And financial success doesn’t mean that you’ll be free from mental trauma. The reason is down to the fact that people become stressed, anxious or depressed because they assign meanings to the events they are confronted with using a flawed, hurtful way of thinking.
Address the modes of thinking at the root of these problems and you’ll greatly reduce stress levels and take a giant stride towards conquering stress, depression and anxiety whether you’re as poor as a church mouse or as wealthy as a King.