Dealing with credit card anxiety may be difficult in the best of times, but when global economic concerns are added into the mix, coping with high credit card balances may bring on additional anxiety. In good times and bad, there are a number of steps you can take to learn how to deal with credit card anxiety.
Step 1
Understand the signs and symptoms of anxiety so you can deal more effectively with its consequences, say licensed therapists at Greenleaf Counseling Services in Atlanta, Georgia. While everyone may become slightly nervous about finances at times, anxiety begins to be a problem when it interferes with daily activities. Symptoms of anxiety include sleeplessness, irritability and the inability to concentrate. Physical symptoms can manifest as digestive disorders, respiratory difficulty and a weakened heart.
Step 2
Start a savings account or money market account, or add to an existing account on a regular basis. Even small deposits into a savings plan can provide a psychological comfort and calm nerves about money.
Step 3
Reduce credit card spending as you begin to pay down high balances. If you can't pay off a credit card completely each month, at least pay twice the amount of the minimum payment. You will see the balance lower each month, which will add to your peace of mind.
Step 4
Talk to a banker or financial consultant about how you can realistically reduce your debt and invest any savings that you have. Instead of focusing on the generic, sometimes sensational, financial news you find on television, get the facts from a trusted adviser.
Step 5
Get professional mental health assistance if you continue to experience anxiety despite the positive and proactive steps you've taken. Doctors at the American Psychological Association recommend talking to a professional counselor or therapist if financial counseling does not reduce your stress and anxiety, because the source of your anxiety may be deeper than the financial aspects on which you're focusing.
Tips and Warnings
- Treat yourself occasionally while you are working to manage your credit card anxieties. Short-term rewards when you have reached a small goal can provide motivation to continue with your financial plans to pay down your cards and save more.
- Watch your thinking. Even when your finances are realistically in good shape, negative thinking and worrying endlessly about adverse possibilities can drive you to despair. Your finances may not be where you would like them to be, but fantasizing about future disaster cannot help and can only serve to make you anxious and sick.
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