The Hidden Health Costs of Debt: Skipped Care, Headaches and Fatigue
For some Americans, debt isn’t just hurting their finances. It’s affecting their health.
In a recent survey of 2,000 consumers conducted by personal finance company Achieve and Money.com, some borrowers said their debt has pushed them to delay medical treatment, skip medication or struggle with anxiety.
Most borrowers are aware of the financial costs of borrowing, like compounding interest, late fees and potential damage to your credit score. But the survey suggests the burden of debt — whether it be a mortgage, bank loan, student loans, medical debt or credit card balances — doesn’t stop at your bank account. It can play a role in your physical and mental well-being, too.
Some borrowers push back or skip medical care
Health decisions should ideally take precedence over money matters. But sometimes, borrowers are forced to put their debt above their physical needs: 14% of respondents say they have delayed or didn’t receive medical treatment in the past year because they couldn’t pay their debt bills, and 8% said they skipped or didn’t take a prescribed dosage of medications for the same reason.
As a borrower’s debt burden grows, paying it off can feel increasingly overwhelming. That’s especially the case if you’re facing high-interest debt that climbs quickly, or if you have an income that can’t keep up with both your spending and your debt payments. For example, the number of respondents who said they’ve delayed or didn’t receive medical treatment because of their debt jumps to 25% for those with at least $20,000 of unsecured debt.
While just 9% of respondents with incomes of $150,000 to $200,000 pushed back or forwent medical treatment due to debt, that figure nearly doubles to 16% for those earning between $75,000 and $100,000. This almost two-fold increase suggests that even a six-figure salary is no longer a reliable protection against the trade-offs between physical health and debt obligations.
When you feel too drained to even open the mail because of debt concerns, scheduling a doctor’s appointment moves far down the priority list, says Sophie Benander, head of growth for wealth management at the employee benefits provider and financial planning firm Sentinel Group.
“This is also often when we see people stretch or skip medications because it feels like one more thing they can’t afford,” she adds.
Borrowers suffer side effects of debt
The emotional and mental effects of debt also take a toll on borrowers' health.
Roughly half of respondents said thinking about their financial situation has resulted in them having trouble sleeping, being anxious or feeling depressed. More than 40% of respondents said their money problems have led to difficulty concentrating, and feeling irritable and overwhelmed. The side effects of debt can manifest physically, too: 38% of respondents reported headaches or migraines when considering their finances, while 44% said they experienced muscle tension or body aches and 35% have dealt with digestive issues and nausea.
In all cases, negative side effects spike among respondents who said they had unmanageable debt — and often the difference is extreme. Just over a third (36%) of respondents without debt say thinking about their finances makes them fatigued, but that figure jumps to 46% for people with manageable debt and a whopping 75% for those with far more debt than is manageable.
“Debt doesn’t just live on a spreadsheet,” Benander says. “It lives in your body, often feeling like a weight you wake up with and go to bed with.”
When debt feels unmanageable, it’s easy to go numb and avoid it, but that only deepens the shame and the stress, Benander adds. The survey results support that: About three-quarters of respondents with unmanageable debt say they feel embarrassed or ashamed about their finances, and respondents who saw their debt increase over the past year were far more likely to report feeling embarrassed.
The coping mechanisms that rear their heads in the face of debt can cause even more strain on the body: 35% of respondents with far more debt than is manageable say they’ve used alcohol or other substances to cope with their financial stress while about 60% say they’ve resorted to stress eating or lost their appetite.
Smarter debt starts here
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