If you have ever been in debt, you will understand that being in that position takes a huge toll on your mental, emotional, and even physical health. It may seem hard to avoid sometimes, but, nothing can replace good health. Therefore, it is important to avoid taking on debt to protect yourself from the effects on your health.
Here are some of the reasons why taking on debt is bad for your mental health.

1. Loss of Freedom

One of the first things that taking on debt does is to take away your freedom. No, you probably won’t be bound in chains or have your movements restricted. The loss of freedom here is psychological. When in debt, a person automatically places restrictions on themselves. It could be on the places they can go, the kind of things they get to enjoy, or even feelings they get to express.

Freedom of will is the greatest gift nature has given us, but, debt can take that away from us.

2. Inability to Think Clearly and Make Plans

Having outstanding debt makes it difficult to make financial plans. This is a major problem because, these days, everything is somehow tied to finances. Trying to plan something like a grocery run starts to feel like you are fighting a losing battle.

Furthermore, taking on debt places a massive amount of stress on the mind and body. Due to the build-up of stress, thinking clearly becomes an arduous and almost impossible task.

3. Decrease in Energy Level

When people have debts to settle, it kind of takes a large space in their minds and their lives. It becomes difficult to sleep, focus on work, and all the while, fatigue level keeps increasing. All their thoughts will start to revolve around the debt like planets around the sun. In time, it becomes difficult to make plans for the future.

Furthermore, lack of sleep and increased fatigue eventually lead to a painfully low energy level. Low energy will lead to low work output, low work output will lead to taking on more debt and low energy, and so on.

4. Chronic Stress

Day-to-day jobs and life in general already place a significant amount of stress on the body. Working your bones off to pay a debt adds additional stress to the already existing one.

This unending wear puts a strain on, not just the bones and muscles but also the body systems. Excess stress can lead to the development of cardiovascular problems. Additionally, the constant strain on the mind can cause the deterioration of brain activities through the early onset of illnesses like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

5. Physical Health Problems

Taking on debt often leads to mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. These illnesses have a whole host of problems that they bring to the table. Apart from the emotional and behavioral tells, anxiety and depression often manifest physical symptoms such as:

• Stomach pain, nausea, and digestive problems
• Headaches
• Palpitations and increased heart rate
• Constant fatigue
• Tremors
• Limb, joint, and back pain

These symptoms make it difficult to focus on work. Worse still, more debt can be accrued and this will serve to strengthen the feelings of anxiety and depression.

6. It Paves The Way for Substance Abuse

People who experience the feeling of anxiety often seek an external means of escape. More often than not, the escape turns out to be drugs and alcohol. The more anxious a person is, the fiercer their need for an escape.

Naturally, as it does with other drugs, the body starts to build up a tolerance to whatever substance is being abused. The implication of this is that the regular amount of drug or alcohol that worked at first will no longer do so. Therefore, they start to increase the quantity of their substance usage. The cycle continues until it becomes a full-blown addiction.
Furthermore, substance abuse costs a lot of money. So, the need to fuel this vice robs a person of everything they have and makes them sink even further into debt and depression.

Sometimes, it may be out of our control, but, after taking on debt, it is important to find a way out of it as soon as possible.