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It’s Stress Awareness Month, and over the next few weeks, we’ll be exploring related topics and how we might be able to support you.

This year, the theme for Stress Awareness Month is ‘Little By Little, A Little Becomes A Lot’.

The theme aims to highlight the fact that small, consistent actions each day contribute to overall improved well-being in the long term.

Antony Price, our Partnership Development Manager, said: “Stress Awareness Month is important for so many reasons as it not only promotes the importance of self-care and encourages healthy habits that will help you look after your mental health in the long term, but it also raises awareness of the mental and physical impact of stress.

“Stress and financial stress are heavily intertwined, and much like managing your stress, managing your finances can also be helped by consistent, small actions that lead to a better picture later down the line.”

What is stress?

Everyone will experience stress. It can be through overwhelming anxiety or depression, anger or nervousness, and it can even make you distance yourself from those around you.

Stress can also occur for multiple reasons, the most common of which tend to be related to work or finance.

Despite not being considered a mental health illness, stress can directly contribute to more severe mental health issues, so you should seek support as soon as possible.

Mental Health charity Mind has also highlighted different ways stress can make you feel, the physical signs of stress and the difference it can have in your day-to-day behaviour.

Tips to help you cope with financial stress

When you’re struggling to cope financially, it can weigh heavy on your mind and become overwhelming.

Financial stress can lead to issues such as depression, insomnia, weight gain or loss, difficulties managing your relationships, and other coping methods.

To help you tackle your financial stress, we’ve put together a guide:

Create a budget

Create a budget and work out your financial situation.

If you’re aiming to reduce your debt or build your savings, knowing how to effectively manage your budget should always be your first step.

Making a budget, sometimes referred to as an Income and Expenditure form (I&E), will allow you to:

  • See how much money you have coming in and where it’s going out.
  • Check if you’re paying for something you don’t need.
  • Show your creditors (the companies or people you owe money to) how much you can afford to pay them.

If you’ve got more money coming out than you have coming in, you’ll need to address your financial problem – and we’re here to help.

At PayPlan, each of our advisors has received dedicated training to spot the signs of and support mental health and wellbeing.

We also have a specialist vulnerable client team that offers to support people who are particularly vulnerable.

If you have mental health problems and are also in debt, you can call us for free on 0800 316 1833 – we’re open from 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 3pm on Saturdays. Or, you can visit our website to chat with us via live chat or for more information.