Addiction and financial hardship often go hand in hand. We might even feel as though stress around money caused our addictions to develop in the first place. For many of us, money difficulties, such as the loss of our job or our home, can lead to higher rates of substance use. Stress in different areas of our lives is common, but stress pertaining to money can become increasingly difficult to manage.
Worry and Anxiety Around Financial Hardship
There are many reasons why our addictive patterns can first begin to develop, and for many of us, financial stress is the catalyst. Many of us first turned to substances as a response to stress around money. We feel overwhelmed and anxious when we’re having a hard time making ends meet. How we’re going to provide for our families becomes a constant worry. We might be unable to cover our expenses or face eviction. Some of us might have legal troubles surrounding our finances.
The stress of things like unpaid bills, debt and food insecurity can become too overwhelming to cope with. Discrimination, housing instability, unequal access to healthcare, and other societal factors can also exacerbate the link between financial hardship and substance use.
Substance Use as a Means of Coping With Financial Hardship
Any of these things can easily contribute to depression and anxiety, and for many of us, our addictions develop as our means of coping. We find ourselves seeking comfort and escape through drugs and alcohol. Our financial difficulties and our addictions become interconnected.
Unconscious Habits When Struggling With Financial Hardship
Often, it’s not a conscious choice we’re making to start using substances as a means of coping. Our habits tend to develop without our being consciously aware of them. We might feel like we need to the bar every night after work because of how stressed we’ve been during the day. Perhaps we’re now pouring ourselves a drink as soon as we get home. We may be offered drugs by a friend having similar money difficulties while we’re commiserating about what we’re going through.
The High of Substances in Contrast to the Stress of Financial Hardship
Because of how substances increase dopamine levels and impact our brain’s reward system, we feel the allure of the high in stark contrast to the stress we feel around money. Suddenly, we feel happy. Our pressures and fears are replaced by feelings of invincibility. How worried we’ve been gets replaced by a newfound nonchalance. The feelings of lightness and freedom we experience while high make our uncomfortable feelings around money all the more overwhelming.
It doesn’t take long to become biochemically dependent on the substance. Before we know it, we feel as though we need it. It becomes our way of coping and our means of survival.
If you need drugs or alcohol to cope with financial hardship, reach out to a treatment center like Athens Area Commencement Center for help. It can be incredibly difficult to extricate ourselves from these addictive patterns and financial troubles on our own. Having support can make all the difference.
Financial Hardship and Ongoing Patterns of Addiction
Not only can financial stress be the catalyst for addictive patterns to begin, but financial hardship can be the reason why we continue to remain stuck in those patterns over time. For many of us, addiction brings about lowered inhibitions, clouded judgment, and increased risk-taking. These can easily lead to overspending, poor money management, and risky financial decisions.
Addictions, Mental Health, and Financial Hardship
Because addiction can occur alongside other mental health disorders like bipolar disorder, the manic episodes we experience and the overspending that can accompany these episodes can be exacerbated further by our substance use. We can become even more reckless with money and overspend even more, telltale signs of mania.
Furthermore, substance abuse can be accompanied by other forms of addiction, such as gambling and gaming. Both of these can cause us to lose more money and bring about even more financial stress.
Money Decisions and Addiction
A very common pattern with addiction is to prioritize buying our drug of choice over paying bills. Making sound money decisions is next to impossible when we’re inebriated, and our judgment is impaired. Because we feel as though we need our drug of choice, we can become desperate to do anything it takes to make sure we have enough of it. It is not uncommon to spend our entire paychecks, our children’s college funds, or our retirement accounts on our drug of choice. Many of us have lost our savings as a result of our addictions, causing tremendous difficulty for our families and other people we’re responsible for.
Emotional Patterns Around Financial Hardship
The guilt, shame, and regret we feel for letting our loved ones down are palpable and painful. These emotions are also known triggers for further substance use. The more money mistakes we make, the more we want to use our drug of choice; the more we use, the more money mistakes we make. And so the cycle continues and intensifies over time. Our financial troubles drive our addictions, and our addictions drive our financial troubles.
Reclaiming Our Lives From Addiction and Financial Hardship
The first step in putting an end to this cycle is to admit to ourselves that we have a problem. Once we’re willing to be honest with ourselves, we realize that we can’t possibly continue down this path and also successfully take care of ourselves and our families. We can’t find true stability, peace, or happiness when trapped in these patterns.
The next step is to reach out for help. Professional treatment programs like Athens Area Commencement Center can help you free yourself from these patterns. Recovering from addiction means finding mental and emotional well-being. With inner peace, financial stability becomes that much easier to attain.
Addiction and financial hardship, for many of us, are interconnected. In order to solve our money difficulties, we must first address our problem with addiction. Finding mental and emotional balance is necessary to put the rest of our lives in order, including our finances. Without addressing the addiction at the root of our challenges, we will only continue to add more layers of financial stress. At Athens Area Commencement Center, we’re here to help you navigate these sensitive and difficult issues. Our team members have firsthand experience recovering from addiction and are here to help you achieve your own successful recovery. Call us today at (706) 546-7355 for more information on our treatment programs.