Part 1: The “Why” on Money and Your Mind Health
There’s no doubt 2020 was a year of stress for many. At MindSync we talk about all sorts of stress and the impact on your Mind Health. One of the largest stresses can be money.
According to a recent survey by Thriving Wallet in 2020 they found:
90% of Americans say that money has an impact on their stress level
40% say managing their money on a daily basis limits the extent to which they can enjoy their day-to-day life!
Those numbers break my heart. Let’s unwind the “why” of Money and Your Health as a three-part series. It’s vital for understanding the “why” first to have freedom from financial stress.
There’s two parts. The first is called Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs shown in the table below. There are 5 tiers. The core to the theory is the lower needs have to be fulfilled prior to needs higher up on the triangle. The other key part of the theory we all share these needs----all five tiers.
Guess where money fits in? Money is mostly tied to both Physiological (tier 1) and Safety (tier 2) needs. This is vital to understand because to be free of financial stress you first need to understand that your subconscious is hard wired to be concerned about money to fulfill these needs. Your subconscious is trying to protect you if those needs are unfulfilled. It won’t stop protecting you until you take steps to deal with tier 1 and tier 2 of the triangle related to money. In other words, you have to deal with it to turn it off—no head in the sand strategies will work.
But remember I said there’s two parts to the “why” of financial stress. The second part is it turns out our minds don’t deal with time as well as we’d like to think. What do I mean? Unresolved financial stress at any point of your life is currently playing beneath the surface in your subconscious mind at this present moment. Your brain thinks it’s happening this second. For example, if you currently have high credit card balances that stress doesn’t leave you while you turn on a good Netflix show. Or if you grew up as a child in a household that was in constant need for financial survival those tapes are still playing as if they’re happening to you at this very moment. Your brain can’t tell the difference.
Imagine if you were to experience freedom from financial stress. The impact goes so far beyond your finances. Stay tuned for our three-part series on the “What” and “How” on money and your Mind Health to learn how you can start to be free of financial stress. Reach out to me today to learn more.
