Is Debt Making You Depressed?

You’d be remiss to think that dealing with overwhelming debt didn’t have an emotional impact on your life. People have been known to commit suicide because they didn’t see a way out of their currently debt-filled life.

Recognising the symptoms of debt-depression isn’t easy. You might blame negative feelings on other things that are happening in your life, but there are some key questions you can ask yourself that will point to debt as the reason you’ve been feeling so down.

Debtor’s Anonymous is a group of women and men who lean on each other to get through debt-troubled times. Their website has a list of 15 questions you can ask yourself to figure out if you’re having problems with debt. A few of them include:

• Are debts making your home life unhappy?
• Do your debts cause you to think less of yourself?
• Has the pressure of your debts ever caused you to consider getting drunk?
• Have you ever borrowed money without giving adequate consideration to the rate of interest you’re required to pay?
• Do you usually expect to have a negative response when you are subject to a credit investigation?

If you answer “yes” to more than 8 of the 15 questions, Debtor’s Anonymous suggests that you either have a problem with debt or you’re on your way to one.

The symptoms of depression come in many forms. You can have physical, psychological, and social symptoms of depression and never realize you’re depressed. The NHS lists several symptoms of depression. Some of the psychological symptoms of debt-depression include:

• You feel hopeless and helpless about your debt
• You feel guilty about your debt
• Thinking about debt makes you irritable and intolerant of others
• You aren’t motivated or interested in other things
• You have trouble making decisions, especially about how to pay off debt
• Debt causes you to have low self-esteem
• You have suicidal thoughts after thinking about your debt
• You can’t picture a positive future, with or without debt

There are also some physical and social symptoms of debt including:

• Change in appetite
• Unexplained aches and pains
• Lack of interest in sex
• Problems going to sleep, waking early in the morning, or other abnormal changes to your sleep pattern
• You don’t participate in as many social activities
• You don’t spend time on hobbies and other interests
• You have difficulties in your home and family life

If you’re feeling depressed about your debt, you need an immediate intervention. Schedule an appointment with a mental health therapist as soon as possible. Talking to a therapist can help you deal with your emotional feelings about debt in a healthier way.  Depending on the severity of your depression, you may need prescription drugs to help balances out your emotions.

Whether you feel signs of depression, it’s a good idea to get involved with your local Debtor’s Anonymous (D.A). Because they recognize debt as an addiction that needs to be broken, the members of D.A. use the same literature as Alcoholics Anonymous, a support group for recovering alcoholics. To get started, you should D.A. recommends you read the Alcoholic’s Anonymous 12 steps.