You don’t need me to tell you that being in a lot of debt is a bad thing. It means that you’ve got less money to spend, all of your extra cash is being eaten up by interest payments and you can’t afford to save up for the future. In short, your financial situation is incredibly unstable while you’re in debt. So, how come everybody still borrows money all the time? Debt seems to be a normal part of life now and a lot of people don’t even consider it to be a bad thing, it’s just what they need to do to get by. The problem is, they don’t realize that it’s having an effect on their life that reaches far beyond their finances. The mental and emotional impact of being in debt is one of the worst things about it but we don’t talk about it often enough. If you’re saddled with lots of debts, this is how it’s affecting you.

Stress and Anxiety

This is the most obvious thing you need to be aware of. When you’ve constantly got creditors asking you for money and you just don’t know where it’s going to come from, that can be incredibly stressful. When you’ve got the threat of having your possessions taken away or even being evicted from your house looming over you, you’re going to be worrying constantly about it. There’s also the future to think about because you’re going to be thinking about how to increase your credit score so you can get a mortgage etc. All of that stress weighs heavy on a person and it can develop into more serious mental health conditions like anxiety disorder or even depression if things get really bad. You’ll find it even harder to get motivated and clear those debts in that situation and you can quickly fall into a vicious cycle that’s hard to get out of.

Resentment

Debts are the biggest cause of contention between couples and they can easily ruin a relationship. One of the worst effects that debt has is resentment. It’s easy for you to start blaming your partner for running up debts, or coming into the relationship with more debts. Once you start blaming each other, the atmosphere becomes very sour and the relationship is going to struggle. All of those negative emotions towards a person also affect your general mood.

Sense Of Achievement

Don’t worry, there are some positive mental effects of being in debt, but they only come at the end once you’ve paid it off. When you pay that last payment and the debt is cleared entirely, you’ll feel like a new person. A huge weight is lifted and you’ll feel a massive sense of achievement at having paid back all of that money. It’s often the kick you need to sort out your finances and be more responsible with your money, meaning that you aren’t as likely to find yourself in the same situation again.

Being in debt can cause you a lot of mental distress on top of the financial issues it brings, that’s why it’s important that you only borrow money if you absolutely have to.