My Debt Relief Plan

We all know the symptoms of stress: irritability, difficulty sleeping, tense or sore muscles, and depression are some of the most well-known effects. The first step to alleviating stress is to identify the sources. Let’s examine the link between stress and an all-too-common cause: debt.

Being in debt is literally like carrying a load on your back. Just as hauling around weight on your shoulders wears you out and causes pain, so does the ever-present knowledge that you owe lots of money. You know you are working not to prepare for the future, or to enjoy the present, but to pay for items and expenses that you enjoyed long ago. This feeling of working for something that isn’t even bringing joy or enhancing your life is depressing. Once you start to feel depressed, everything becomes more difficult. Finding the motivation to get up and do an honest day’s work becomes harder and harder. Satisfaction in a job well done becomes elusive. Soon you’re not enjoying your work anymore, or for that matter, any part of your life. It’s difficult to relax and enjoy off-time when the shadow of debt is looming.

When you’re in debt you receive constant reminders that your life is not yours to live. You receive bills in the mail daily. Your email inbox is full of credit card statements and notices of payments due. Perhaps the worst part about being in debt is the phone calls from creditors. They usually call in the evening, because most people are home in the evening. How many family meals or other activities are interrupted by phone calls asking when your past due payment will be made? This strategy of never letting you forget you owe money causes enormous stress for all family members. It’s like that weight you have on your back is not only getting heavier, but it’s spreading to your spouse and children as well.

Additionally, being in debt may cause us to feel out of control. No one likes to feel as though he or she is being manipulated by someone else and told how to spend earnings. Yet, the creditors have every right to request the money that they are owed. These conflicting truths further the stress you feel. You know that the only person responsible for your debt is you, and you wonder why and how you could have gotten yourself into such a situation. Knowing that you are to blame for your own troubles causes feelings of worthlessness. Stress and all these negative feelings that come with it make for a vicious cycle: blaming yourself makes you feel more depressed and hopeless, you dont have the motivation to work that you once did, you might turn to buying and spending as a way to temporarily feel better, you become further in debt and continue to blame yourself.

The only way to solve the problem is to realize that it will have to get worse before it gets better. Make a plan to discipline yourself and stop spending on anything that isn’t strictly necessary. It’s hard to explain to your children why they have to cut back on frills, and it’s hard to deprive yourself of things you enjoy, but it must be done. Next, make a strict plan for repaying all the debt you owe. If you can’t do this on your own, find a credit counseling agency that will help you to make repayment plans. Stick to your schedule! Keep telling yourself: it has to get worse before it can get better. Prepare to be uncomfortable and unhappy for awhile. Once you do, you’ll discover that before long, stress will begin to ease. When you find that you truly are in control of yourself and your obligations, you can see a light at the end of the tunnel. This is a tremendously freeing sensation. No one can make you spend more than you want to. Re-organize your priorities, and dont get sucked in by advertising and by a society that tells you what things you must own to be happy. You’ll begin to understand that living simply, and being grateful for health and family, are far more rewarding than acquiring stuff.

Debt causes stifling, debilitating stress, which in turn causes health problems, poor self-esteem, and the dizzying cycle of depression. Grabbing control of your debt will release you from stress and free you to live a meaningful life. Go grab control now!