#70 Mental health & money with guest Charlotte Burns

Often people think of mental health in relation to serious conditions such as bipolar or depression, but it's something we should all consider - not just for ourselves but for friends and family. Mental health is pretty much how you're feeling and functioning. It can be good, or ok. But all of us will have moments where it's bad - even if it's not a condition which might require longer-term management or medication. Whenever we're feeling down, feeling stressed or feeling lonely we're experiencing poor mental health. And there's a good chance any of these can impact our finances. On a more severe end of the scale it could mean you need to miss work, causing you to lose money. It's common for people to get anxious when dealing with any kind of admin, but when that's bills or bank statements that can be a larger issue. Motivation can be a problem, leading to important money matters getting ignored. Or perhaps moments of depression or mania could prompt people to spend more money - money they don't have. The worst case scenario is that these scenarios lead to unmanageable debts - but it can work the other way too. The two really are linked. Money problems can feed depression and anxiety, and that in turn can impact on relationships, work and family. Big life changes can make a difference to both finances and mental health too - so having a baby or losing a loved one. So it's not something we should dismiss or hide from. It's important to take some action before anything happens. In this episode I talk to fellow money blogger Charlotte Burns from lottyburns.co.uk who shares her experiences with poor mental health and debt, and how she deals with triggers even 10 years later. You can read more at www.becleverwithyourcash.com/cashchats70/