Avoiding Our Finances
Money is the primary cause of divorce and of personal stress and a major cause of depression, domestic violence, and crime.
by Reeta Bochner Wolfsohn, CMSW
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| Reeta Wolfsohn, CMSW, the founder of Financial Social Work (financialsocialwork.com) and creditcardreform.com, is a therapist, author and motivational speaker. The Center for Financial Social Work helps men and women to take control of their money and gain control of their lives. Reeta can be reached at [email protected]. |
Money is the primary cause of divorce and of personal stress and a major cause of depression, domestic violence, and crime. Credit card debt continues to climb each year, and personal savings became a negative percentage of income in 2005. Nonetheless, many people avoid facing the reality of their financial circumstances. It\’s important to understand why.
At the Center for Financial Social
Work we have identified what we call Financial Aversion Syndrome (FAS),
which consists of Debt Distress Disorder and Asset Anxiety.
While each of these components impacts lives differently, both create
the financial circumstances and stress that too often prevent women and
men from being able to fully function in their families, their
relationships, their workplaces, or anywhere else.
Debt Distress Disorder (DDD) is the result of “significant debt and/or
negligible assets,” i.e., the inability to meet financial obligations
or to save money. It may contribute to, cause, or be caused by divorce,
abuse, unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy, incarceration, predatory
lending, or other factors. It does not discriminate by age, gender,
race, culture or religion, but anyone with DDD is at increased risk of
being subjected to Financial Profiling, which can lead to
discrimination in efforts to buy a home, work in certain professions,
etc.
Asset Anxiety has many of the same symptoms as DDD but usually occurs
when someone realizes he or she has no financial safety net and lacks
the financial resources to fulfill the American dream. Such people find
themselves unable to own a home, take vacations, pay for college, or
retire with security. Nor do they have the resources to take care of a
spouse, partner, parents, or other loved ones.
Asset Deprived (AD) individuals very often feel overwhelmed by their
tenuous financial circumstances and powerless to change or to improve
them, so they avoid actively working to increase their net worth
through such means as savings, investments, retirement funds, or
purchasing real estate. As a result, their financial situation
continues to deteriorate, while feelings of frustration, hopelessness
and helplessness continue to accelerate.
Of the millions of people who contacted a consumer credit counseling
agency or filed bankruptcy in 2005, many needed far more help than
either of those options affords. While each provides critical
protection, each also has long-term ramifications; and neither is
designed to change behavior, so both experience high recidivism rates.
Burdened with debt they can\’t afford to pay off and limited by little
or no savings and assets, the burgeoning number of Americans struggling
with Financial Aversion Syndrome habitually find themselves with
nowhere to turn for help and no understanding of how to cope with or
improve their financial situations. Too often they place themselves at
greater risk by ignoring their financial problems.
Work we have identified what we call Financial Aversion Syndrome (FAS),
which consists of Debt Distress Disorder and Asset Anxiety.
While each of these components impacts lives differently, both create
the financial circumstances and stress that too often prevent women and
men from being able to fully function in their families, their
relationships, their workplaces, or anywhere else.
Debt Distress Disorder (DDD) is the result of “significant debt and/or
negligible assets,” i.e., the inability to meet financial obligations
or to save money. It may contribute to, cause, or be caused by divorce,
abuse, unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy, incarceration, predatory
lending, or other factors. It does not discriminate by age, gender,
race, culture or religion, but anyone with DDD is at increased risk of
being subjected to Financial Profiling, which can lead to
discrimination in efforts to buy a home, work in certain professions,
etc.
Asset Anxiety has many of the same symptoms as DDD but usually occurs
when someone realizes he or she has no financial safety net and lacks
the financial resources to fulfill the American dream. Such people find
themselves unable to own a home, take vacations, pay for college, or
retire with security. Nor do they have the resources to take care of a
spouse, partner, parents, or other loved ones.
Asset Deprived (AD) individuals very often feel overwhelmed by their
tenuous financial circumstances and powerless to change or to improve
them, so they avoid actively working to increase their net worth
through such means as savings, investments, retirement funds, or
purchasing real estate. As a result, their financial situation
continues to deteriorate, while feelings of frustration, hopelessness
and helplessness continue to accelerate.
Of the millions of people who contacted a consumer credit counseling
agency or filed bankruptcy in 2005, many needed far more help than
either of those options affords. While each provides critical
protection, each also has long-term ramifications; and neither is
designed to change behavior, so both experience high recidivism rates.
Burdened with debt they can\’t afford to pay off and limited by little
or no savings and assets, the burgeoning number of Americans struggling
with Financial Aversion Syndrome habitually find themselves with
nowhere to turn for help and no understanding of how to cope with or
improve their financial situations. Too often they place themselves at
greater risk by ignoring their financial problems.
