January is usually the month when you understand just how much Christmas has cost you. Every year, thousands of us dread the credit card bulls arriving and this is when the financial hangover from Christmas becomes realist. This is to be expected, as Christmas is the most expensive time of the year, with many people using their credit cards and overdrafts to pay for the festivities. If this has affected you this year, read our Winter Finances guide here.
Many people don’t believe Blue Monday is real and that it’s just a marketing plan to help sell more summer holidays, but we do know that the during the winter months, with shorter, darker days we generally spend more time indoors, which can have a negative impact on our mental health. Some people suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which can increase depression and anxiety. With January coming straight after the highlight of Christmas and also for many a month where the Christmas credit card bill has arrived, it’s not surprising that January tends to be the least favourite month of the year for many people. It is therefore vital that you make an effort to protect your wellbeing.
Stress and anxiety can be caused by many things, not just financial worries, including not seeing family, friends and colleagues face to face, work deadlines, relationship problems and home life.
Stress isn’t a mental health condition, but it can cause a mental health problem, like anxiety and depression or it can cause and existing on to get worse. Stress can also affect you physically, it can cause headaches, insomnia, tiredness or stomach problems. For more Information on managing worries and stress, read our guide here.
With money worries being one of the largest wellbeing challenges facing us during January, it’s important to start talking about money worries before your situation gets worse. Worrying about money can negatively affect your mental health and for those people experiencing mental health problems it makes it harder to manage their finances.
The stress of dealing with financial pressures does not just affect your personal life. It can affect your work, family life, health and your personal life. It can affect your work, family life, health and relationships. It’s therefore important to talk about money worries.
For more tips on how to spend less read our guide here.
For more details on debt, read our debt awareness guide here.
Where to get help:
Police Mutual Services
Our Care Line Service provided by Health Assured can offer advise and information, helping with a range of concerns including emotional support. Take a look at the e-portal and download the APP.
Health and Wellbeing e-portal
https://healthassuredeap.co.uk
Username: policemutual Password: careline
Worrying about money can be extremely stressful and may lead to mental health conditions. Police Mutual are here to help. We want to break down the stigma surrounding debt and get people talking about money.
We’ve teamed up with Payplan*, one of the UK’s leading free debt advise providers, who offer free and confidential advise to anyone in serious financial difficulties.
They’re able to advise you on a range of debt solutions suited to your individual circumstances, helping to protect you and your family with a sustainable way to manage your debt.
Get free and confidential help to combat your debt, call PayPlan* on 0800 197 8433.
To read more of our wellbeing guides take a look at our Wellbeing Hub here
