How to Find Joy in the Midst of Debt -

It’s no secret that debt can cause a host of issues. It can wreak havoc on your health and cause you to feel stress, anxiety and even depression. Here’s how to find joy in the midst of the debt chaos.

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Many years ago I found myself a newly divorced single mom with no savings to my name and over $50,000 in debt.

I felt like a complete failure. Like my whole life had fallen apart overnight. I was constantly on edge thinking about how I was going to cover all the bills. This created a ton of stress and anxiety.

I started having trouble sleeping and eventually developed symptoms of depression.

Unfortunately, my case is not unique.

A recent s tudy conducted by the American Psychological Association found that 72% of Americans feel stress related to their financial situation on a regular basis.

According to Forbes, “the greater the financial strain, the more likely you are to experience symptoms of depression, anxiety and overall ill-health”.

So is it possible to find joy even when you have a mountain of debt? I am living proof that it is!

Here’s how I was able to find joy even in the midst of overwhelming debt.

I Smiled When I Didn’t Feel Like It

Putting a smile on your face is hard to do when you’re overwhelmed by anxiety, depression or fear of what the future has in store. It’s easy to just give in to the negative thoughts and feelings and call it a day.

However, according to S cientific American, just the act of smiling can make you feel happier. Even when I didn’t feel like smiling, I made it a point to greet everyone with a big smile, and to smile throughout the day, for no apparent reason.

The studies are not wrong. I dare you to give it a try. Just for one day, smile as often as you can remember, and keep track of how you feel.

In my case, smiling definitely helped me feel happier overall. Not only that, but trying to remember to smile took my thoughts away from my financial issues often.

I Practiced Gratitude

I once worked for a company that was suddenly sold. Employee morale plummeted. People were anxious and restless.

The company knew that if they were going to survive the next few months until the sale was done, they had to help the employees feel better, so they hired a health coach.

The health coach taught us to practice gratitude every day by finding joy in the smallest of things. Maybe it was having a comfortable chair to sit on or eating a favorite snack. Maybe it was spending time with a loved one.

Whatever it was, she had us write three things that we were grateful for each day, no matter how small it may seem. We collected these things on index cards, and we would review them with her once a week.

It may seem overly simplistic, but over the weeks, this exercise prove to be life-changing. Gratitude is a powerful thing. It has the power to change how you view any situation as it helps your brain to re-focus on positive thoughts instead of negativity.

I definitely felt an improvement in my overall mood and in my outlook on life after several weeks of doing this.

To this day, I continue to practice gratitude when I’m feeling sad or upset by finding small things I’m grateful for in my life.

One thing that helped me tremendously was keeping a gratitude journal.

I highly recommend this as it really helps to go back to it and remember what you’re grateful for on those days when you can’t find anything at all.

You can get yours here:

I Surrounded Myself with Positive People

How to Find Joy in the Midst of Debt | Is it possible to find joy even when you're drowning in debt? I'm living proof that it is! Here's how to find joy, even in the midst of debt. #debt #mentalhealth #motivation #mindset #debtfree #debttips #debtfreeliving

Did you know that negativity is contagious? Fortunately, so is happiness and positivity! I took note of who I hung out with and how I felt after my interactions with them.

If there was a friend that infused me with positivity, I made it a point to spend more time with them. On the other hand, I also limited my time with people who complained a lot, were not supportive of my efforts or just made me feel down.

I made it a point to spread, and be a source of, positivity. I kept complaining to a minimum, even in my mind.

Every time I felt myself starting to throw a pity party in my head, I tried to replace those thoughts with positive ones.

Surrounding myself with encouraging and positive people really made a difference in my life. It gave me the motivation I needed to keep going and pay off all my debt, even when it felt like I would never make it.

I also made it a point to motivate myself with visual aids of my progress, even posting a debt thermometer on my fridge! You can get yours here:

My modus operandi for many years was to sweep my problems under the proverbial rug.

I did this with my debt as well as with my overall health. However, when I realized this wasn’t working, I decided to face my issues head on.

I took a hard look at my attitude, and I paid attention to my thoughts.

What did I Find?

I discovered that I wasn’t being too nice to myself, and I decided to change that.

The first step? I gave myself grace.

I smiled often, I found great friends, and I became more grateful.

Did all that wipe my debt away? Of course not. But it definitely made the hard work I put into becoming debt free all the more meaningful.

If you want to learn more about how I paid off over $50K of debt on a low income, check out my free quick start guide to paying off debt here.

I wanted to share a song with you that I’m taking as a personal challenge. It reminds me that joy is a choice:

I can choose to focus on what I have, instead of what I don’t.

I can focus on what I’m good at, instead of on my shortcomings.

I can choose to accept where I am, instead of focusing on where I’m not.

Hopefully, you’ll enjoy this song as much as I do! I hope that today, you also choose to find joy in the midst of any trying situation you may be facing, financially or otherwise.

Of course, choosing joy doesn’t automatically make any problems go away, but it’s a step in the right direction!

Please share this post if you found it helpful, and let us know how you find joy in your own life!