Bachelor’s degree in stress.

Stress is a feeling of being overwhelmed, worried, or run-down. Are you stressed out? These days, who isn’t? The American Psychological Association (APA) suggests that money and finances continue to be the top cause of stress.

The stress-o-meter is maxed out.

The accumulation of common but persistent stresses from daily frustrations adversely affects our physical and mental health. Need cash from the ATM? Get in line, bubba. Night out at the movies? Sorry sister, that show is sold out. Sick as a dog? A visit to the doctor finds you in a waiting room full of germs for hours. And while his office is only ten miles away, you’ve spent an hour getting there in heavy traffic. Over time, bad stress (called “distress”) can reduce your quality and length of life.*

Not where you want to be.

In the working world, the top stressor is moolah. A recent survey of 1,600 adult employees conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals that finances cause employees the most stress—nearly as many as those whose top stress is their job, health, or relationships combined. And Gen NeXters (Millennials) suffer far more than their older counterparts as it relates to financial wellness. Under pressure to achieve and excel, nearly 64% of Gen NeXt workers report they are stressed about their finances.

One major reason is rising student debt has burdened this generation severely. According to the study, 42% of respondents were carrying student loans and a whopping 79% cited those loans as having a moderate to significant impact on their ability to reach other financial goals. For NeXters, the requirement to repay student loans takes a clear precedence over setting aside money for funding their long-term goals and retirement. With traditional pension plans disappearing and Social Security benefits shrinking, this is a less than ideal reality.

The well-tempered mind.

Young persons have long reported more stress than older people—increased feelings of insecurity create an urgency to make every moment count (see: I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!). But researchers are finding what matters most may not be just the level of stress, or even its type, but how it is thought about. People who see stressors as challenges rather than threats (framing trap**) are more likely to behave in a constructive way, reports a 2013 study at Stanford University’s Mind and Body Lab.

Unfortunately, you can’t achieve everything you want in life without stress. Since much stress is unavoidable, working out how to harness it may be wiser than fruitless attempts to banish it. Changing how we perceive and react to stress may help us live healthier, more financially secure lives.

• Financially stressed-out workers tend to be less productive, less engaged, and raise employer health care costs. Employers are taking action. Check whether your company has implemented a financial wellness program as an employee benefit.
• Stress at work may be performance-enhancing, but it is very important to set aside time for things that relax you. This may mean not checking e-mails on weekends, taking a vacation, or going for a stroll in the middle of the day. The Psychology Help Center of the APA offers good advice on coping with work stress.
• Reframe stress as a challenge to be overcome. Start by closely monitoring your behavior to see if there are some bad habits you need to change (see: Old habits die hard). Tap traditional sources of refuge such as peers, family, and tribal elders and ask for an impartial perspective on how you can grow.
• Being financially literate improves your ability to cope with money-related stress. Meet with your supervisor and ask what company resources are available to improve your personal economic future.
• Accept responsibility for your own financial success. Here’s a sure-fire method:
  1. Find a mirror.
  2. Stare at the most beautiful face you will ever see.
  3. Say to the person looking back at you: “I cut my own slice of the pie.”
  4. Once a month, repeat steps 1–3.

The key to overcoming stress is learning to supplant emotions with facts and reason. Imagine a future into which you can project yourself with some sense that good things are indeed possible.

* Another type of stress (called “eustress”) is the healthy tension associated with positive experiences such as hard work, demanding careers, or falling in love. This stress can pay off handsomely!

** Questionable beliefs can “trap” our better judgment, leading to poor decisions and unintended consequences. In the framing trap, how we interpret the world around us affects our choices. Learn more about this, and other traps, in the Young Person’s Guide to Wisdom, Power, and Life Success.

Image credit: “Woman checking her piggy bank” by piksel, licensed from 123rf.com (2016).