April 27, 2009

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is part one of two on managing stress triggered by finances.

Plenty of Americans are lying awake at night when they used to sleep soundly. The dreaded words “foreclosure,” “job loss,” and even “budget” keep popping in uninvited, due to 24/7 media attention. All the while, stress and anxiety keep building.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone in your economic “depression.”

“We’re susceptible to letting all existence sort of shrink down to this financial problem, so that everything we’re doing throughout the day is sort of shaped by how bad things are financially,” says Jeremy Lelek, president of the Association of Biblical Counselors. “We’re all susceptible to caving in like that.”

Lelek, who often counsels couples embroiled in financial troubles, has seen a noticeable spike in family stress due to money problems or job loss, even though most of his clients are Christians.

Other groups such as the American Psychology Association (APA) back up his experiences. By the end of last year, 80 percent of Americans included money and the economy as their top sources of stress. That stress spills into other areas, including relationships, communication, and general well-being. Historically, it’s a short jump from more stressed people to more depressed people.

Opposite reactions denial or sudden stinginess leave people unprepared, isolated, and self-focused. Even moderate responses can jolt people from ignorance into consuming worry and second-guessing.

Economist Dr. John Stapleford, author of “Bulls, Bears, and Golden Calves,” says Americans now face a day of reckoning for the “casual” attitude they learned during the real estate boom, when buying another house was so easy that many people didn’t read the fine print. “People weren’t financially astute enough to realize that there were hidden agendas there.”

Though people realize they need to change their spending habits, he says, the “financial literacy curve” is overwhelmingly steep.

Escaping financial stress – and other problems it can trigger – requires more than one solution, Lelek says. The monetary strain can be alleviated through practical tools and training, and provide some relief. But because such tools don’t change the overall economy, Lelek says, people remain vulnerable to renewed anxiety with every rise and plunge of the stock market.