Today, I’m thrilled to share my most recent podcast interview with you. I spoke with Carmen Hecox, the host of the Create the Best Me podcast about money, emotions, and financial therapy. My episode, titled How to Transform Your Relationship With Money, dropped at the start of the month. Check it out on YouTube or Apple Podcasts.

Let’s get right to it!

When it comes to money numbers, numbers are not just numbers. 

Money numbers are not simply data points. These are containers of story and emotions – and sometimes fog and chaos. Let’s apply Principle #1 of my 10 Principles of Financial Therapy©: Compassionate Curiosity and Zero Judgment to the process of knowing your numbers.

What do you experience when thinking about approaching your money numbers? Is it giddy excitement, dread, forgetfulness, or even flat out rage? Whatever your answer, it’s okay to allow what is happening to happen. This is just your starting point. Remember: Money work is always shifting.

You know that feeling that happens in your body when someone asks you for a money number — the tightening of your throat, the tension in your tummy, the freak out in your head? Or maybe you experience such deep avoidance that, when you start to look at your numbers, you fall asleep! These are real sensations and real messages from your nervous system. It’s okay to have them. My Financial Therapy Approach helps you honor the current feelings and move toward the desired feelings. It also supports you in moving forward, getting unstuck from past money behaviors and patterns.

Imagine if knowing your money numbers brought peace, comfort, confidence, and freedom to your life. 

I am on a mission to help 100 women this year step into knowing their numbers. You don’t need to stay in a relationship because of money or because you don’t know or understand your money numbers. I don’t want you to feel stuck in a job because of a lack of clarity around your finances.  

In my Money Mindset Shift Program, I talk more about this idea and offer guided support through this emotional journey of connecting with money numbers. For a deeper dive, check out this lesson from Step 7: Clarity Shifts for free for a limited time.

We can do this work during sessions together too! Three or four financial therapy sessions, geared to focus on what keeps you blocked from knowing your numbers, can make a life-changing difference.

So what can happen when you know your numbers, when you are clear on your money snapshot? 

What about when you have a clear sketch of a money plan and when you have the tools to get to where you want to be? Well, you can make decisions based on things other than money fog, money anxiety, and money fears. You can go deeper into your true self and true desires. Plus, you may find a way to decide for yourself if you want to stay or go with that relationship – because you feel financially confident and wise. You may be able to stay in the job because you have new awareness and new boundaries with yourself and the position.  Or you may be able to build a clear and confident plan to change your situation and free yourself from feeling stuck in a situation. Imagine no longer feeling trapped because you are uncertain about money. It’s so empowering!

Do you want to be one of the 100 women I help this year? Book a discovery call today to get started!

The post Do You Know Your Money Numbers? appeared first on Financial Therapy Solutions.

The answer is yes! Okay, but what does that mean? How do you heal your relationship with money? In my approach to financial therapy, I help clients in this process all the time — and as a result, they experience healing and change.

Are you hoping to heal your relationship with money? Start by taking these two steps today.

1. Identify the current relationship.

Do you avoid all things money? Do you find money thoughts to be constantly on repeat in your mind? One key thing to start the healing process is to name where you are today, right now, in this present moment. You may believe that you have to “clean up your money life” before working on it — but that’s not true! 

Instead, you can begin to use the first principle of my 10 Principles of Financial Therapy©: Abundant Compassionate Curiosity and Zero Judgment. When you apply this idea, you look at where you are today with kindness, learning, and support. You understand that today is just a snapshot. It’s not a predictor of the “rest of your life”; it’s just where you are today. Then, your money life has plenty of energy to flow from there.  

2. Identify what you want your relationship to look like.

Do you have a strong sense of good and bad when it comes to money? Another principle of my 10 Principles of Financial Therapy© is: There is No Good/Bad Dichotomy with Money. Shocked to hear this?! You aren’t alone!

Many of my clients come from a life of harsh polarization of money descriptors. When I say there isn’t a “good” and “bad” with money, that means that you aren’t hopelessly “bad” and others aren’t perfectly “good.” Does that simple shift help take some of the pressure off? I want it to.

Now, you can apply that Curiosity and Zero Judgment and change your inner dialogue to “I like this,” “I want this,” “I don’t like this,” and “I don’t want this.” Feel that shift! If you want to experience more of this new way of thinking, check out my Money Mindset Shift program.

Remember: You don’t have to wait to have it “right” to start.  

Begin right now with these two steps. By taking even a single step toward a new relationship with money, you’re on the path to healing. For more on this topic, check out my recent episode on The Wellness Revolution Podcast with Amber Shaw.

Click here for more supportive resources and additional help. If you’re ready for individualized support, book a free discovery call now!

The post Can You Heal Your Relationship with Money? appeared first on Financial Therapy Solutions.

Can financial therapy help bring balance to your mind and emotions when it comes to your entrepreneurial endeavors? 

For today’s blog post, let’s consider how financial therapy can impact your business.

To start, consider the questions below:

• Do you find yourself agonizing over your business finances?
• Do you struggle to “turn off” anxious money thoughts?
• Does money take up more than 50 percent of all your brain space?
• When I ask if you have made a 2024 business plan, do you want to run away?

If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, then I believe that financial therapy can help bring balance to your mind and emotions in your life as an entrepreneur.

In a recent episode of The Women Empower Podcast, host Bri Logue and I talk about the origins of financial therapy and why I built Financial Therapy Solutions to help women heal their relationship to money. We also have fun talking about my unique journey from Memphis to Denver, riding my bike around Elvis’ house, and some of my own financial roller coaster rides. 

As entrepreneurs, Bri and I talked about ways that my approach to financial therapy can impact your business and help soothe your business money mind.  

Your business money life often feels distinctly separate from your personal money life, as if there are two sets of money rules – those shoulds and should nots – for your business funds and personal funds.  This may seem confusing and unclear. Conversely, your business and personal money may feel chaotically tangled up, which can drain you emotionally and create a deep money fog.  

In my financial therapy business consultations, I take entrepreneurs through a series of questions that can help decrease fog and increase clarity. As an example of the work I do with my clients, take some time to journal your responses to the following questions:

• When I ask you if you know your top five key business numbers, what is your reaction –  in your mind, body, and emotions?
• What is the amount of money you need to bring to your home/family from your income sources?
• What is the amount of money you want to bring to your home/family from your income sources?
• Do you have a written business plan, with numbers, for the next 12 months?

None of these questions are magic, but they are good places to start. Each one can bring up big feelings. If you notice a big feeling – like fear, numbness, avoidance, joy, and/or excitement – write about them. This increased awareness can often help you get one step closer to more clarity in your business money mindset. That is why taking things one step at a time really helps.

Ready to get started? Book a discovery call with me now!

The post How Financial Therapy Can Impact Your Business appeared first on Financial Therapy Solutions.

As a financial therapist, I talk with clients every day about their relationship with money. I was in session a few weeks ago with a young couple when the holidays came up.

“Ugh, the holidays,” one of them groaned. The other nodded in agreement. I watched their body language change as they slumped in their seats, defeated. I considered this reaction. It was more than not feeling excited, it was like they felt helpless. I asked, “Do you feel like a victim of the holidays?” The answer was a resounding yes.

The couple was burdened by expectation and didn’t feel in control of their spending this time of year. I’ve had several clients who feel the same way. For many of us, the holidays can feel like an obligatory financial drain. Emotionally, we may feel the weight of cultural or family expectations to be joyful all season long. By accepting these expectations as our own, we feel out of control, helpless, and victim to the holiday season.

If this strikes a chord with you, you’re not alone—and you’re not a Scrooge.

The Holiday Fairy Tale

So much of the pain we feel around the holidays (and outside of them) can be caused by the distance between our expectations and reality. My clients were trying to meet expectations they assumed their kids held. It turned out this was not necessarily true—they recognized that their kids are so young they likely didn’t have any expectations at all. We realized they were internalizing expectations that bypassed their own values.

A common cultural expectation is that the holiday season is a magical time of year, when in reality it can also be painful. Yes, it’s wonderful to see family members we haven’t seen since last year, but it can also bring up unpleasant feelings of not being seen as we are now. If we’ve lost someone we love, the holidays can be an acute reminder of their absence. On top of that, the shorter, darker days and cold, grey winter weather can put a real damper on our mood.

A common cultural expectation is that the holiday season is a magical time of year, when in reality it can also be painful.

When it comes to our finances, the holidays can stir up pressure to spend money. We might get an idea of finding the “perfect gift” for our loved ones and feel confirmation of this notion through marketing and social media. Unfortunately, this “perfect gift” doesn’t really exist.

And when we can’t find it, it’s easy to compensate by buying more or focusing on dollar amounts. We may fixate on how much we “should” spend on each person. If we can’t afford that number, we might lean on our credit cards, saddling ourselves with debt just in time for the new year and the so-called fresh start.

This tension between rosy expectations and the practical reality is incredibly common. To get past it and unburden yourself from the pain of unmet expectations, we need to get to the root of what the holidays might be stirring up for each of us.

Heal Your Holiday Story

Think back to when you were a kid or a year you felt good. What were your favorite holiday traditions? What do you remember most fondly? What made the season feel magical and warm?

Exercise #1: Write a list of what’s important to you for the holidays. Think back to those positive memories. What’s the first warm and fuzzy thing that comes into your mind when you think about the holiday season?

Now think about this holiday season. What memories do you want to create? How do you want to have spent your time and money?

Exercise #2: When you look back on this year’s holiday season, what do you want to remember? How do you want to have spent your time and money? Make a list of what you’d like to do and assign each item a dollar amount. Note that some things might cost nothing at all.

Your answers to these questions may begin to inform your values. What did you notice that might bring you the most joy? Time with family and friends? Cooking a meal with people you love? Taking a winter nature walk?

With your answers in front of you, how does it feel to put down the “shoulds” and expectations and instead focus on what will fulfill you? Letting our intuition dictate how we spend time and money can result in decisions that align more closely with our values. By focusing on what matters to us, we may be able to hear our own voice more clearly. We may even feel in our bodies what we want rather than listening to outside sources for answers.

Letting our intuition dictate how we spend time and money can result in decisions that align more closely with our values.

In doing this exercise with my clients, they’re often surprised that what fulfills them most cost little or no money. This doesn’t mean that spending money on gifts is wrong. Quite the opposite: gift-giving can be a beautiful way to show someone you know them and care about them. It can be a love language.

Intuitive Holiday Shopping

To make gift-giving a beautiful experience for you and your loved ones, approach it with curiosity and non-judgement. Rather than creating a rigid holiday budget or setting an expectation of creating the perfect holiday with a gift, continue relying on your values and intuition.

Once you’ve realized that buying things for the people you love brings you joy, you put yourself back in the driver’s seat—you’re in charge of your money rather than the other way around. By using your intuition to come up with a plan for holiday shopping, you give yourself the opportunity to maintain control and focus on gift-giving as a beautiful act of love rather than something obligatory and materialistic.

Exercise #3: Open up your accounts and take an honest look at your finances. What do you intuitively feel you can spend on the holidays this year?

You can use your plan and your intuition as you purchase, too. Instead of looking for stuff your loved ones would like online or at the mall, you can spend some time beforehand thinking about what brings them joy. Head out with specific ideas in mind for gifts and experiences they’ll love.

Above all else, remember that it’s ok to not feel happy during the entire holiday season. It’s unrealistic for us to feel on cloud nine for three months just because of the calendar, and chances are, you’re not the only one.

Wishing you all an intuitive holiday season!

The post Healing Your Holiday Story appeared first on Financial Therapy Solutions.

Have you heard me talk about compassionate curiosity yet? My clients hear me say this phrase a lot. At first, their body language reflects a response like, “Yeah, that sounds pretty and sweet, but I can’t be kind to myself with money, or I will just make things worse!” Sometimes, they even say these feelings out loud, which I love! Then, they start to apply it, and several sessions later, like magic, their body language (and maybe their words too!) will say, “Wow, this is really helping!”  

Do you want to try to experience the shift that compassionate curiosity brings?

Oftentimes, one of your current coping styles stands in the way. Maybe it’s negative self-talk as you try to bully yourself into being better with money. Maybe it’s avoidance, promising yourself that you will get to the money tasks later. These types of coping styles can feel familiar. They can even serve as an element of certainty amidst so much uncertainty. They may bring you comfort, like settling into a favorite chair with a book, or fear, like seeing yourself engage in a binge cycle of eating, shopping, gambling, sleeping, yelling, or [fill in the blank] that leads to unsettling outcomes. What I find helpful here is taking a pause and a breath. Then, give yourself a chance to name these coping styles with compassionate curiosity instead of judgment. 

As you spend time reading my blogs or maybe in session with me, I hope you hear about this approach hundreds of times. I mean it! I don’t mind if you hear it so much that you begin to predict that I am about to say it. In fact, that would be amazing! After all, there’s a reason why it is number 1 of my 10 Principles of Financial Therapy©.

Let’s dig in a bit further.

Principle 1: Abundant Compassionate Curiosity and Zero Judgment

Try it on.

Notice how it feels to reflect upon a behavior, a transaction, or a conversation about money that troubled you, first with that inner critic that judges you. Then, take an intentional breath, and reflect upon it with compassion and curiosity, allowing space to notice three or four things about that event with a non-judgment energy. My hope is – and what often happens for my clients – there is more room to:

• gain insight
• breathe more fully 
• create space for change

It is in that spirit that I incorporate my foundational practice of “Breathe, Intend, Move” into Money Mindset Shift. 

This course teaches prompts to promote healing in your money story. Even better, it’s easily adapted to bring healing to your own area of focus. Perhaps you are craving change in your relationship with debt or earnings. Maybe you’re looking to make improvements in your relationships with family and friends. You will be encouraged to add in your own prompts throughout the course. If your goal is to begin to look at your money life with a therapeutic lens, applying these principles is a key step. It could be your first step of real change in a frustrating, anxiety-ridden, fear-based and maybe embarrassing dynamic with money.

My hope is that the concept of compassionate curiosity helps you deepen the exploration of your experience with money. May it increase your kindness to yourself and others and decrease reactive judgments. If you want, please let me know about your journey through these prompts with an email. I really want to know how it impacts you and your life! 

If you feel ready to go a step further, you can check out my Intentional Shopping Exercise (link below) and the Money Mindset Shift course options. Plus, get on the list to be notified of upcoming workshops!

I can’t tell you how much adopting this frame for my own life has changed and healed my spirit. The impact has been real. I encourage you to try.

The post Compassionate Curiosity: Can It Really Make a Difference? appeared first on Financial Therapy Solutions.

As we enter the last quarter of the year (!), it’s important for small business owners to get grounded in their own numbers and identify their money milestones. Maybe you want to wrap up a project and ensure that you have time for a new one come January. Maybe your focus is hitting your annual revenue goal. Or maybe you just want to see how 2021 compares to the ups-and-downs of 2020. Whatever the reason, it’s normal to feel some pressure to finish on a high note before the holidays. 

So what do you need in order to meet your money milestones? Let’s take a look at some financial therapy tools that have worked wonders for other small business owners!

Know Your Numbers

I know it may seem like a no-brainer, but it isn’t uncommon for a small business owner to experience avoidance, overwhelm, guilt, or shame when trying to get closer to their numbers. Think about the following questions:

• Do you know your monthly expenses? 
• Do you know how much you make each month? 
• What are your periodic expenses for the year, divided over 12 months? 

Although it may be emotional, using this opportunity to get closer to your money has long-lasting, positive effects, including increased confidence and security in your business. Do you feel like you already have these elements locked in? Consider the 50-30-20 budget rule for your business versus your personal expenses. As a driven professional, this exercise can be a thought-provoking way to heal your relationship to money.

Rename Your Accounts

It’s amazing to see the shifts that happen when business owners rename their accounts to something that has more emotional buy-in. How different would it feel to see a savings account named “Vacation to Hawaii” or an account that says “Dream Home” when putting money aside each month? How would it feel to rename a credit card to “Life-Changing Trip to Italy” rather than “Credit Card Debt?” This simple but powerful pivot in how we think and feel about our money can make all the difference in staying committed to our savings goals or our debt reduction plan. 

Talk About Money

This tip may seem strange, and yet, talking about money continues to be a taboo conversation for many people. Maybe it was discouraged in your family. Maybe it leads to a visceral reaction to talk about money with your partner, spouse, or business partner, which has caused fighting in the past. However, in order to heal your money story, you have to get close to it and talk about it. 

To be clear, I’m not suggesting you go around saying, “I can’t afford ______.” That’s a self-limiting belief that we have all been caught saying to ourselves. I’m talking about taking the power out of money by making it a more casual conversation. Perhaps it’s celebrating a milestone with a colleague you trust. Or having what Bari Tessler calls a Money Date with your partner or spouse to check in on your goals. 

Revisit Your Money Milestones Monthly

Lastly, once you start the work of knowing your numbers, don’t forget about them! The work of money healing is not a one-and-done process. You have to check-in once in a while. So what would it be like to schedule a money date with yourself? Some ideas include: 

• Running a P&L for your business 
• Reviewing your bank statements to see what you made this month 
• Utilizing a tool like TillerHQ, MoneyGrit., or YNAB, all of which give you a snapshot of your month 

There are plenty of possibilities here, so discover what works for you and go for it.

Master Your Money Workgroup

I hope these tools are as impactful for you as they’ve been for other brave small business owners who wished to redefine their wealth, worth, and work-life balance. These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg of what financial therapy can offer.

If you feel inspired, intimidated, or just want the accountability of doing this work with someone who can offer the safe space and compassion to create a difference, consider joining our upcoming Master Your Money workgroup, set to begin in January 2022. This six-month program involves one 90-minute session per month with expert guidance and one-on-one help. During this workgroup, you’ll learn how to get out of debt, save money, grow your practice, and gain financial freedom. Plus, you’ll be working with a supportive group of entrepreneurs like yourself, all using your newfound knowledge and tools to bring about real change to your businesses. 

Khara Croswaite Brindle is a Certified Financial Therapist-Level I Professional and a contracted therapist with Financial Therapy Solutions.

I hope you’ll join us for the upcoming Master Your Money workgroup and start the new year strong! You can reach out to wendy@financialtherapysolutions.com with questions.

The post Meeting Your Money Milestones appeared first on Financial Therapy Solutions.

You’re not alone. Many people are feeling a sense of fragility in their financial lives, stuck in a cycle they can’t get out of. Did you know that even before COVID-19 hit, consumer debt in the U.S. had been steadily growing? It’s up 19% since 2009, to its current record high of $14.1 trillion!

Also, many people are facing financial uncertainty because of COVID-19—the latest stats show that 22 million Americans are unemployed. And a Bankrate poll released in January 2020 showed that just four in 10 U.S. adults could cover the cost of a $1,000 car repair or hospital stay with savings!

I’m not sharing these figures to scare you, or to bring you down. Instead, I want to use this opportunity to share a fresh approach that I think can help: using a savings plan to help you stay out of debt, not just get out of debt.

I often hear “How can I save if I am in debt?” and “It’s impossible to not have debt.” I made this shift myself, and can offer you some tips to help you increase savings on your path to reducing debt.

3 Steps to Staying Out of Debt

I’ve worked with clients who have paid off debts—often big ones—only to find themselves deeply in debt again when they come to me. What has helped them change the cycle is looking at the deeper emotional links to their money, debt and savings cycles. This can stop the constant up-and-down of debt weight and emotion, which can feel similar to yo-yo dieting.

We all have a relationship with our money, our debt and our savings. We’re going to take a closer look at those relationships. And while we’re doing so, I want to remind you of the power of approaching your financial story with compassionate curiosity, not judgment.

1. First, I invite you to identify your money mindset.

   Whether your mindset is one of scarcity: “There will never be enough money” or abundance: “There will always be enough money,” it drives your behavior and decisions every day. Your mindset also influences behaviors like whether or not you’ll keep cycling in and out of debt, make promises to yourself that you won’t overspend this time (but do it anyways).  There are online quizzes for identifying your money mindset, and I also find a helpful way can be to journal out some of your top money beliefs.  This can give you some good clues!

   By having a deeper connection to what prompts you to make the financial decisions you do, you’ll begin to tune into your money mindset, and reduce disconnected spending.

2. Now, what’s your debt mindset?

   I see a lot of “black and white” in how people think about debt. Debt is bad; no debt is good. This rigid thinking can feel a bit like holding your breath.

   When you throw every dollar at your debt and don’t have any savings, eventually you have to gasp for air. You use your credit card or go into overdraft to cover that unexpected expense, or use your credit card as your emergency fund, creating a revolving door of debt.

   Remember, no judgment! I used to be a “balance transfer queen,” shuffling debt around on a regular basis…

3. Finally, identify your savings mindset.

   What does it feel like to ask yourself “What is your relationship to savings?” You do have a relationship with savings, no matter what your account balance is.

   Some people notice a sense of perfectionism pops up and sounds like “If I don’t have $1000 (or pick your amount) to start with, what is the point? Some may feel so overwhelmed by bills that they can’t imagine taking money from an already-stretched monthly inflow.

   One of the biggest impacts of COVID-19 might be that you are more painfully aware than ever that you didn’t have even a month (or a week!) of funds saved up. You may have been longing to ‘do different’ and aren’t sure why it isn’t happening. And you may feel too embarrassed or ashamed to explore this pattern.

   Financial therapy is a safe place to start the conversation with yourself. And whatever your savings mindset is, I encourage you to try starting with an automatic transfer of even $10 or $20 into savings per month. And notice how this feels, and how it can spark momentum.

   By setting up automatic transfers, you’re also saving yourself from “decision overload,” which can make you feel stuck. It’s one less decision you have to make in your day!

Take a Breath, Then Take the First Step

When you identify your money, debt and savings mindsets, it helps you change the way you approach, organize, and feel about your finances. And this kind of clarity can even improve other areas of your life!

So I encourage you to take a breath before you rush to pay off debt, whether you just got a coronavirus stimulus check or are working full-time. Instead of focusing only on how good it would feel to be out of debt, breathe and consider paying off debt as just a part of your overall money plan, balanced out with savings and spending.

No matter where you’re at in your money journey, I can help. Book your first session with me today.

The post Don’t Just Get Out of Debt, Save Out of Debt! appeared first on Financial Therapy Solutions.

Maybe you’re feeling lonely because you can’t see your parents or adult kids or share a coffee with a coworker. I know I miss taking a springtime hike with friends, or giving my kids and parents hugs. 

Many people are also dealing with the financial stress of coronavirus. Maybe their loved ones are suddenly without income because they have been laid off, their work hours have been reduced or they no longer have childcare. 

From a sense of unrest to outright fear, we’re all dealing with the emotions that COVID-19 is stirring up. That’s why I wanted to share 3 ways to cope:

1. Just breathe

   It sounds so basic, doesn’t it? It is, but this primal practice can immediately ground you and instill a sense of calm, especially when you find yourself going into “fight, flight, freeze” mode (more on that below). 

   One of the most common methods in meditation is something called “receptive” practice. Rather than trying to change your breathing, you simply follow it. As you inhale and exhale with no judgement about your technique, you’re naturally quieting your mind and reducing anxiety.

   Over time, receptive breathing can guide you towards being more present in each moment, effortlessly aligning with what’s going on in your world. It can also boost your emotional intelligence and improve your communication with others. 

   One of the best COVID-19 coping strategies is to simply pause and take a breath. Let your body remind you that you have what it takes to get through this time of change and uncertainty, 

   Here’s a great resource on conscious breathing practices.

2. Get to know your numbers.

   Lots of people are taking the opportunity of being housebound to focus on their “mental money health.” Some individuals have more time to dig deep into their money story, while others are feeling the financial stress of coronavirus. This pandemic goes hand in hand with a significant economic crisis that’s being experienced globally. 

   This could be the perfect opportunity to look more closely at your money blocks. As you really crunch your numbers, you’ll begin to discover so much more than just what you buy; you’ll start to see patterns. 

   As you look at these patterns with compassionate curiosity, not judgment, you’ll start getting clarity into the underlying why of your financial decisions. 

   As you’re getting started, here’s a tip: Use a tracking system to touch and name all of your numbers and get down to the nitty gritty (for example, a row called “Coffee Runs” could track your weekly cafe purchases). 

   Jot down your thoughts and feelings around each transaction. Do you feel euphoric when you buy new clothes? Guilty when you put money into savings rather than buying your kids something fun? This was an insight I gained when I was doing my own money work: As a single Mom, I felt like I was taking something away from my kids by not spending that money on them.

   I promise you, you’re going to learn a lot about yourself by tapping into the feelings you attach to your money! If you’re feeling the financial stress of coronavirus, remember to look at your money story with compassionate curiosity. Be kind to yourself and to others, not just now, but always.  

3. Understand your coping strategy. 

   We all tend to have a baseline coping strategy, and I often envision these strategies on a continuum. Knowing your baseline, such as a tendency to control things when stressed, can help you normalize how you react. 

   You may notice you are hyper-focused on controlling small things, such as wiping down every surface at home every 20 minutes. If this is interrupted, you may erupt as if under attack. Once you know this is your baseline, you can then name it, appreciate it, and breathe through any interruptions.

   Here are some examples of ways you may fall onto one end of a continuum or another:

   • Restrict or binge. Your COVID-19 coping strategies either involve restricting food or eating like it’s your last meal. Or, maybe you restrict self-care or loving connections, or binge on alcohol or online shopping.
   • Rigid or chaotic. Do you scrub your floors with a toothbrush when times get tough, or let dirty laundry pile up on your desk? Some of us feel a sense of calm when things are clean and orderly. For others, the chaos on the outside mirrors what they’re feeling inside.
   • Fight, flight, freeze. This is your body’s built-in coping mechanism, and it helps protect you from danger. For example, if I yelled “Duck!” you might automatically crouch down, which would be good if an object was flying at your face. But regular old anxiety can also trigger this fight, flight, freeze mode.

    

   Also, you may often find your response feels like a rollercoaster ride from one end of this continuum to the other. But knowing your baseline will help you communicate more clearly (to yourself and others) about how you are really doing. 

One thing I encourage is looking for ways to decrease reactivity in order to increase connection and enhance communication.

I hope you can take some comfort in these COVID-19 coping strategies. Please remember that like everything else in life, this will pass. Acknowledge whatever you’re feeling at the moment and breathe—you’ll get through this!

If now is the right time for financial therapy, I’m here. From exploring your decision matrix to digging deep into your numbers, I can guide you on your financial renewal journey. Contact me for a free virtual or phone consultation.

The post Certainty in Uncertain Times: 3 COVID-19 Financial Coping Strategies appeared first on Financial Therapy Solutions.