‘Stressflation’ Is Here to Stay, Even if this Is the First Time You’ve Heard the Term

You know the economy sucks when mental health providers are conducting financial research.

Two online counseling firms, Modern Health and LifeStance Health, released polls last week about the mental toll of financial problems. The results were grim.

The generation and wealth gap

Gen Z and Millennial employees are “grappling with anxiety fueled by economic uncertainty and financial stress that is taxing work productivity and personal time.”

Gen Xers and Baby Boomers might scoff at such a notion, but Modern Health’s poll of 1,000 professionals 18 to 44 paints a dark portrait of two struggling generations…

• 76% say “financial anxiety is disrupting their sleep, mood and energy and directly impacting their productivity at work.”
• 74% of employees say they’ve “delayed taking time off work due to financial concerns.”
• 69% say “they’re staying in toxic job environments or avoiding necessary career changes due to economic fears.”

Unfortunately, this was the first time Modern Health conducted this particular poll, so we don’t have historical data. For all we know, last year was even worse. Regardless, the numbers are so high, there’s cause for concern.

What is ‘stressflation’?

Stressflation is the hip new term for anxiety caused by inflation and other economic factors like layoffs and recession fears. When LifeStance Health polled more than 1,000 adults, 8 in 10 said they were suffering from it – although it’s a safe bet a few of them had never heard the term before.

Even worse, their stressflation is feeding upon itself: 4 in 10 said they were so worried about their money, they didn’t spend any seeking mental health counseling or even self-care. Which, of course, hikes their anxiety even more.

"People are prioritizing their mental health like never before, but economic challenges — from increased grocery bills to housing costs — are making it harder for many to get the care they need," says Dr. Rachel Dalthorp, LifeStance Health’s executive medical director.

Deflating debt

Fortunately, there’s a cure for stressflation that’s cheaper than mental health counseling. It’s financial counseling.

Calling a nonprofit credit counseling agency or a for-profit debt-solutions company (like, oh, I dunno, Debt.com) is free. So is the in-depth debt analysis you receive. Your counselor will also review all your options for getting out of debt. Some are free, some charge a fee. But that fee is dwarfed by the amount you save – which can sometimes reduce your interest rates on your debt to 10% or even zero, and other times mean you pay back less than you owe.