(GPB)- While it may be better to give than receive, credit card debt can be overwhelming.
Gaurav Sinha, an assistant professor at the University of Georgia’s School of Social Work, says there exists an intricate connection between mental health and financial well-being, particularly in young adults.
The burden of debt, especially among 18- to 34-year-olds, can trigger a spectrum of mental health issues, from stress and anxiety to severe depression, he said. There is a cognitive bandwidth that gets stressed during the holiday season with weighing decisions about what kind of gifts to buy, figuring out where to go for dinner and choosing family activities.
“People tend to buy gifts, host parties, travel, and you have to put a lot of thinking in that, right?” he said. “People constantly, they stress about like, ‘How much I can spend? What should I buy?’ When people overspend, a regret-laden post holiday anxiety sets in.
These small decisions add a level of distress to balancing priorities such as work and education, Sinha said. So when all these things accumulate, it sometimes creates burnout, especially after holidays, he said.
“This is how I see the season,” he said.
Sometimes, people have to make tough financial choices, keeping goals and desires firmly placed, Sinha said.
“And all these accumulate at some point and, you know, [for] many people it’s okay for them to do well, but then at the end of [the holiday season] to have holiday burnout,” he said. “It affects your mental health a lot.”
He suggested blocking out time to recharge and taking micro-breaks while planning holiday activities.
