Fear of going broke

[trying_to_chill]

I've always had a fear of becoming a bag lady. I'm single and rely solely on myself to pay for the mortgage, bills, etc. I have a good job, though it's just a contract job, but I always have the fear that I could easily lose it. I try to reason myself out of this belief, but nothing works.

This great causes me a great degree of anxiety. It's as if I can never relax on the job because of this fear of getting fired. I feel like I can't rely on any job.

Has anyone successfully dealt with this fear?

[Starrlight]

I often worry about things like this like you do so I may not be of much help but what has helped is I try to focus on just today and just the now and listing things that are solid for me, and reasons why logically it’s going to be ok and what I’m grateful for.

[trying_to_chill in reply to Starrlight]

Thank you. Maybe it would be good for me to make a gratitude list every day. I've heard that from Oprah and others.

[Starrlight]

here’s a link to my last gratefulness post healthunlocked.com/anxiety-...

[trying_to_chill in reply to Starrlight]

Thank you, That's sweet.

[designguy]

I think this is a pretty common concern for a lot of people. I had my own business for many years and was always worried about getting the next client, money, etc... What helped me was getting ahead a few months financially so I could reassure myself that I would be fine incase of an emergency which is something you might try to do for yourself if possible. Try to get 3 months or even up to 6 months expenses ahead in savings if you can. Another thing is to look at where you developed your fear of lack of money, it more than likely came from your childhood and family of origin which can help you understand it better. Those of us with anxiety have difficulty dealing with uncertainty but the reality is we constantly live with uncertainty everyday we're just not aware of it. There is a lot of info on youtube about how to deal with the lack of money that you might check out.

[trying_to_chill in reply to designguy]

Good suggestion about YouTube videos. I'll look for those.

I have 6 months savings. The last time I looked for a job, it took 4 months to get hired, so hopefully 6 months will be enough.

[designguy in reply to trying_to_chill]

Good for you, try to take some comfort in that.