Anxiety Support Group

Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...

23,095 Members
43,240 Posts
2 Online
Anxiety Disorders
/ Anxiety Support Group

money stress

HappynessHappens00
HappynessHappens00

Hello everyone. Just wanted to share how i was feeling. my anexity has been more frequent the last few days due to stress about money. I knew the stress would make it more difficult but it also made my ocd act up more. Ugh its been a tough few days. Ive just been trying to stay calm and do things i enjoy to take my mind off of things. I miss the days when i only had panic attacks and not ocd but oh well.

bridgie101
bridgie101
do you have a budget in excel? I have an excel spreadsheet and every payday I enter the totals of everything into it to see if I have gained or lost. On the next page is the 'budget' - how much I should be spending each fortnight to stay on track. The next page is all the things I have to buy every year, car insurance, rates, glasses, clothes... and that total feeds back into the fortnightly budget page.

If you have never used excel download a free samizdat version. I think open office do it. It's really easy to teach yourself how to use it. There are free tutorials all over youtube.

I'm not saying counting money is good for OCD: but knowing where you are at financially, as a human being, reduces huge amounts of stress. And means you can plan for the future.
HappynessHappens00
HappynessHappens00
Hi Bridgie. Thank you so much for the advice. Yes I do have a budget that helps me keep track of everything. Recently I had a problem with my mail and my pay checks got sent back so that was what sent everything into chaos! I had to call my creditors, juggle my bills and overdraft in my bank. Since I try to keep track of everything carefully as to avoid stress this really was an ugly surprise. But I will look into the excel spreadsheet method u mentioned. My ocd deals with cleaning and hand washing so counting is not a problem, but thank you so much for sympathizing :)
lauraadams173
lauraadams173
I use Quiken...and my anxiety hasn't gone away but it is much better now that I can see evening or and in the open.
tracygibson
tracygibson
I have dealt with money anxiety - yes, that is a real thing! - for years now. Even though I'm in a much better place now, it is stronger than ever before - so weird, right??? I use YNAB (You Need A Budget) and it has been a lifesaver! I can totally empathize with you, as I got laid off from my job last week, so I can feel it creeping up again and am trying to deal with it. I can totally relate. On a side note, download the app 7 Cups. I just downloaded and started using it, but I think it can probably help a lot.
Pswofford
Pswofford
Stress really impacts daily functioning. I understand how tough it can be. Just keep focusing on the things you like to do and trying to stay calm. Doing the things you like to do can make time pass by a little faster. Have you tried breathing exercises or other relaxation techniques? Hopefully soon things will get better. Just keep pushing forward.