Do you use work to escape pain or use money to prioritize other people’s comfort over your own?

Believe it or not, these are all signs of money trauma.

These behaviors, over time, lead to money disorders that can create havoc in your life.

Financial literacy alone will not help you overcome these unhealthy patterns. This is because most self-sabotaging behavior stems from emotional triggers related to unresolved trauma.

That is why I believe that to improve your financial health, you must heal your nervous system and address your mental health.

Connecting the Mind and Body for Healing

You often hear the phrase that when you know better, you do better. Unfortunately, we are not always thinking clearly.

When we’re triggered, typically by a reminder of past trauma, the analytical part of our brain goes offline, and the primal and emotional part of our brain gets activated. This part of the brain will respond to the perceived threat with common responses like fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. So, even if, prior to the trigger, you decide to react in a healthier way, your nervous system’s response may unfold differently.

The reason is because the body is always present. The body will remember even if we disconnect or disassociate from a traumatic or stressful event. Stuck emotions residing in our tissues percolate until they’re released. The release can come up in healthy or unhealthy ways. Most often, the old pattern rears its ugly head, creating more shame and continuing the destructive cycle that leads back to the original behavior.

What makes healing more complex is that we can also carry a legacy of trauma from our ancestors. We may not have memories of the occurrences, but we feel them in our bodies, which can cause us to react unfavorably.

Adapting to an Unwell Culture

The challenge for many is that we live in a world that values productivity. Conscious rest and healing are a luxury that many people don’t get to enjoy. In addition, our hustle culture puts many people’s nervous systems on edge, causing them to act out in ways that reflect their need to feel safe.

Many of these behaviors get labeled as disorders or mental illnesses. Yet, I believe they reflect unresolved trauma from an unhealthy culture.

It is no secret that mental illness is on the rise*, that school shootings continue, that women’s rights are being negotiated, that racism exists, that the wealth gap is increasing, and that systematic oppressive structures exist. We can all likely think of more items to add to this list.

This concerning trend points to a culture that is unwell, and the symptoms we are experiencing reflect the trauma inflicted by it. When the world around us keeps us in a hyper-vigilant state that encourages compliance, it also becomes challenging for people to heal.

Awareness of a New Money Paradigm

The first step to creating change toward a new money paradigm is to become aware of our traumas and begin the inner work necessary to heal them. With that individual work, we can collectively create a new way of being, one that is in alignment with our values and expresses our authenticity. From this place, we can begin to create a life that we don’t want to retire from because it provides us the daily nourishment we need to thrive and tap into our abundant nature.

The ripple effect of individuals waking up from their trauma spells and shifting their lives away from that which no longer serves them will move us in the direction of creating a more peaceful and interconnected existence.

What Works for Long-Lasting, Healthy Change

Talking about life goals is great, as is improving individual financial health. Yet neither of those addresses the behaviors embedded and wired into the subconscious mind and body. While they’re very much needed, they won’t take anyone across the finish line.

For sustainable change and lasting results, it is essential to add modalities that heal the nervous system and help create new neural pathways (new ways of thinking). I have found that mindfulness practices and somatic awareness are effective tools in my wealth coaching practice.

Allowing ourselves to pause, process, get clear, and discharge stress in the body and mind should be common practices. Teaching people how to do it on their own is my solution for giving back and filling a gap in the financial services world that many don’t address.

*https://www.mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america