by The Mind Faculty
Our relationship with money is often a complicated one. The media sends us mixed messages on what money and wealth mean. On the one hand, money is seen to be the root of all evil. Mo’ money more problems. On the other, it is means to the end and the backbone of a capitalist society: from our survival to our freedom of choice.
However, there are those of us who suffer from ‘money trauma’, where our relationship with money has a adverse effect on our spending and earning habits.
Do you suffer from money trauma?
Signs that you may suffer from money trauma:
You feel guilt over your personal finances, spending habits and/or knowledge of finances.
You feel uncomfortable or unable xpress your financial needs and frustrations with your friends and family.
You feel that “financial sins” are the worst of all. A common thought is that “money is the root of all evil”.
You do not believe that you have the right to voice your financial feelings or desires.
Money Disorders
There are a few types of money disorders:
Money Avoidance
You may find it difficult to deal with financial decisions to the point where you avoid it. This can manifest in not paying your credit card bill, as a way to avoid the problem. On the other end of the spectrum, you may feel guilt when you accrue any money, which speaks to issues of self-worth.
Money Worshipping
Money is put on a pedestal. Money is seen as a temporary escape from everyday worries, manifesting in overspending. Or you may find yourself hoarding money to provide yourself with a sense of security.
Relational Money
You find it difficult to establish boundaries with others in terms of money. Again, this can swing either way. This can manifest in little green lies, where you keep your spending habits from your partner. Or you may find yourself giving money to others when you can’t afford to: for example, supporting your adult children who should be supporting themselves.
Money is the root of all...
Our financial health can be influenced by several factors. Messages from the media, the way our parents dealt with money or traumatic events in our life that influenced the way we think about wealth.
For example, if we see our parents fight about money when we are younger, we may form the subconscious belief that money make sthe people we love fight. Therefore, we may subconsciously ‘reject’ money by making poor financial decisions.
Furthermore, the concept of money is intrinsically linked to worth, and this can extend to our self-worth. We may not put our hands up for opportunities that we feel we may not deserve. We may self-sabotage ourselves because we do not feel that we are worth it.
Healing from money trauma
Get in control of your financial health. Identify the subconscious beliefs about money that are preventing your from reaching your full potential.
You cannot discard the overreaching impact of traumatic events that happened in your life. Emotional instability can lead to financial instability through impulsive decisions like overspending or dissociation such as refusing to think about your financial situation altogether.