Credit Card Debt Can Cause Depression

You May Be Getting More than High Interest Charges from Your Credit Cards

First Published Date : May 14, 2015 ADawnJournal.com

You may be getting more than what you are paying for with those balances from your credit cards. A recent study done by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found out that high levels of credit card debt and overdue bills are likely to cause depression.

Based on data collected from 8500 working-age adults, researchers found out that there are significant links between overdue bills, credit card debt and symptoms of depression. Also, depression seems to increase when short-term debt increases. Unmarried people, near-retirement people, and those who are less educated showed the strongest link between depression and debt.

However, mid- to long-term debt and depression had no direct link. The report suggests it is possible that as long-term debts are considered as investments in the future, or people get experienced handling these debts, they will not cause depression like short-term debt.

Another research project mirrored similar findings in 2013 by the University of Southampton and Kingston University in the U.K. A direct link was found between high debt and poor mental health. They found 3 times more mental health problems in people in high debt than those who weren’t in high debt.

What I can tell is that it’s simply common sense that debt can cause health problems. Anyone can realise, even without any researches, that people are still getting into more and more debt.

If you are in debt and have been ignoring your debt problem, it is time to take a closer look and get help. Admitting that you have problem is the first step to get rid of debt and stepping on the path to a better future, both financially and health-wise.