Sitting in my office in Mesa, you’d think I was the center of the saddest movie of all time. In some respects, you’d be right. A lot of tears get shed in my office. It doesn’t take me by surprise anymore.
Bankruptcy filings in Arizona are down 7.3% from last year, but from behind my glasses it sure looks as if things aren’t getting better in Phoenix anytime soon.
You feel the same way, I know.
I listen to you and hear the pain you are in. I can’t change the way you feel. I try to let you know that filing a bankruptcy is unlikely to be the worst thing that will happen in your life. You know this. You have probably dealt with far worse.
You hate the idea of giving up. You have already given up most everything you own to try to keep your bills paid. You are at the end of your rope.
I know you don’t want to be here, sitting in my office looking out at another beautiful Mesa day and wondering where it all went wrong.
Most of the people I meet with show the effects of stress. Some are obviously depressed. Not just emotionally, but physically. The signs are obvious.
Money Trouble Depression Is Real
I didn’t know that scientists have studied this seriously until I ran across this article about Legal Abuse Syndrome.
The symptoms are the same as my bankruptcy clients often describe – depression, sleep problems, anger, and relationship breakdowns. It is what happens when we are exposed to stressful and traumatic events. We might think it is all in our heads that we should just learn to cope with.
PTSD is a medical condition and leads to physical symptoms. Lack of sleep, fatigue, and giving up are just the tip of the iceberg. Getting fired, despite putting in long hours of honest work, abusive calls from bills collectors, lack of understanding from the legal system, and downright fraud in the corporate world are traumatic events that lead to serious physical problems.
It’s Not In Your Head
What makes financial problems different from many others is that we have been taught that we are in control of our finances. We really are not. Just like a health problems, we only have partial control. Some of us get sick and there is no avoiding it.
It is not fair. We just have to deal with it.
Many of my bankruptcy clients tell me that the weight on their shoulders is lighter once we’ve spoken and mapped out a plan of resolving their bill problems.
I can’t promise that filing bankruptcy is a cure-all for your money troubles, but I can tell you that knowing your options will make you feel better.
Image credit: Jessia Hime
