The effects of financial abuse are often deeply felt and affect more than just our financial well-being. Circ*mstances resulting from abuse like forced debt, lost advancement opportunities, and poverty can be traumatizing.
What is financial trauma?
The definition of trauma includes injury to a body, such as from physical violence or an accident, and severe emotional or mental distress caused by an experience. Financial trauma falls under the second half of this definition. Understanding trauma is important because it can negatively impact the way our minds and bodies process normal life experiences. This can make it hard to function in what would otherwise be a normal situation.
Financial trauma is often the result of chronic financial stress, like having your finances controlled by someone else or living in poverty for an extended period of time. Some symptoms of financial stress include:
- Negative perceptions about money, which may include blaming yourself for monetary failures
- Inability to concentrate, with intrusive thoughts about impending financial disaster
- Perceiving your overall environment as negative, always waiting for the next disaster to strike
- Worsening nervous energy, leading to inability to concentrate and follow through on things, insomnia, nightmares, and nervousness and anxiety
- Anxiety that every time a letter arrives or the telephone rings, it is a bill collector
- Isolating yourself due to shame or fear, affecting relationships, work, and overall well-being
Start the healing process
Reflecting on your financial journey can be both healing and empowering.
As a starting point, we recommended viewing the “Exploring our Relationship to Money and Beginning the Healing Journey Webinar'' by FreeFrom, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering survivors to build the wealth and financial security necessary to heal to thrive.
Through watching this webinar, we hope you discover avenues towards healing that will work well for you and help you feel more confident making financial decisions.
Get support
You are not alone. There are many people with trauma, money problems, and fear surrounding that trauma and financial stress. And there is lots of help available. You can talk about your financial challenges with trusted friends and family members. Professional therapists can help you learn to approach problems and how to solve them differently, and they can also provide you with more assistance, resources and opportunities.
If you would like help finding affordable support, you can contact a direct service provider in your area, who can help connect you to a local mental wellness professional.
FAQs
Financial trauma refers to the distress associated with chronic money-related stress, lack of resources, or financial abuse. These difficulties can overwhelm the ability to cope with stress, thus leaving many stuck in a state of heightened anxiety, fear, or anger.
Is spending money a trauma response? ›
When we experience trauma, it can affect the way we think, feel, and behave. This can lead to a variety of emotional and psychological issues, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. One way that we cope with these feelings is through spending money.
How do you explain financial stress? ›
Financial stress can show up in many different ways, but in general, it relates to any stress you feel as a result of your financial situation. Some examples include: Finding it hard to keep up with living expenses, such as rental or mortgage payments, utility bills, and groceries.
What are the symptoms of financial trauma from parents? ›
Evans notes that signs and symptoms may look like “losing sleep due to rumination or thinking about your finances, overwhelming feelings of dread when it comes to money, avoiding money behaviors needed to remain stable (like checking your statements), and underspending or overspending.” Importantly, she also highlights ...
Do I have financial trauma? ›
One sign of financial trauma is compulsive or impulsive spending. Individuals experiencing financial trauma may engage in excessive shopping or spending habits as a means to alleviate their emotional distress or seek temporary relief from their financial worries.
What are money trauma symptoms? ›
10 Signs You Live With Financial Trauma and How to Resolve It
- You Have A Hard Time Making Financial Decisions. ...
- You Have Difficulty Sticking To A Budget. ...
- You Have A Tendency To Overspend. ...
- You Have A Hard Time Asking For Help With Money. ...
- You Have A Fear Of Taking On Debt. ...
- You Have A Hard Time Saving Money.
Financial trauma can cause negative thoughts, flashbacks and anxiety — symptoms that mirror post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
What is financial anxiety? ›
Financial anxiety, or money anxiety, is a feeling of worry about your money situation. This can include your income, your job security, your debts, and your ability to afford necessities and non-essentials.
What are the mental effects of financial abuse? ›
Impact of Financial Abuse
Victims feel inadequate and unsure of themselves due to the emotional abuse that accompanies financial abuse. They also have to go without food and other necessities because they have no money. In the short term, financial abuse leaves victims vulnerable to physical abuse and violence.
What is the root cause of financial stress? ›
Low financial literacy. Financial abuse. Family obligations, such as the need to financially support family members. Economic conditions, such as living through an economic recession.
Individuals who experience financial distress may find themselves in a situation where their debt servicing costs are much more than their monthly income. These debts or obligations include items such as home or rent payments, car payments, credit cards, and utility bills.
What does financial stress feel like? ›
Some signs that financial stress is affecting your health and relationships include: arguing with the people closest to you about money. difficulty sleeping. feeling angry, fearful or experiencing mood swings.
What is financial gaslighting? ›
McCullough (pictured above, left) defines financial gaslighting as a form of abuse characterized by the deliberate falsification of financial information, or deliberately providing false accounts of financial transactions over time.
What is financial grief? ›
It's about way of life: everything changes when you lose the money that afforded you a lifestyle. Many of the things you worked hard for and shared with family and friends like holidays, restaurants, shopping, gifts, recreation and hobbies, may all take a hit when there is no income.
What are the 3 types of trauma? ›
There are three main types of trauma: Acute, Chronic, or Complex
- Acute trauma results from a single incident.
- Chronic trauma is repeated and prolonged such as domestic violence or abuse.
- Complex trauma is exposure to varied and multiple traumatic events, often of an invasive, interpersonal nature.
Many people are never told that scary experiences involving money can hurt their financial and psychological health, Mr. Faupl said. Despite this, a 2016 survey found that 25 percent of Americans, including 36 percent of millennials, reported symptoms of PTSD caused by financial distress.
