4 Ways to Reduce Mental Health Costs & Still Prioritize Self-Care

Our mental, physical and financial health are intimately intertwined. Stress and anxiety can manifest in physical symptoms such as tension headaches, digestive issues and fatigue. And we’ve all heard the term retail therapy right? Our stress can propel us to poor spending decisions that only intensify our mental health concerns. This month, we’re exploring how to balance our physical, mental and financial health starting with financially healthy ways to prioritize self-care. Let’s dive into 4 key ways to reduce mental health costs:

For many of us, when we think about mental health—we think about therapy. Or on the other end of the spectrum, we hear “self-care” and think about getting a massage or throwing on a face mask. These are great ways to improve our mental health and practice self-care, however there is a broad set of activities, resources and practices that we can utilize in our mental health journey. Here are some ideas:

• Meditation
• Yoga
• Acupuncture
• Massage
• Support Groups
• Nature walks
• Rest

Now that we’ve got some ideas—start looking for free or low-cost resources in your community. This could include community mental health centers, non-profit organizations, and resource centers. Community mental health centers offer affordable or even free traditional mental health services, non-profits often provide support groups or counseling services that are free or low-cost, and resource centers regularly offer free classes and even one-on-one sessions.

As with most things, mental health services have gone digital. Therapists are offering their services via phone or video chat and a wealth of apps have popped up offering affordable and on-demand options. These won’t be for everyone and as with any of my suggestions, they are just that. Ultimately, you know yourself best! I only encourage you to try new things so that you can find what resonates most with you and helps you feel happy, peaceful and balanced. Here are a few to check out:

• Meditation: Calm, Headspace, Insight Timer
• Therapy: Better Help, Talkspace, Ginger
• Yoga/Exercise: Yoga with Adrienne (Youtube), FitOn, Down Dog

Financial worry can be a sneaky contributor to your overall mental health. Don’t forget to address that aspect of your mental well-being. Often, just sitting down and reviewing your spending or creating a spending plan can go a long way towards easing the stress and cutting expenses or making a plan to pay down debt that saves you money in interest. It can also help to connect with non-profit resources like Apprisen for financial counseling. Having a trusted, non-judgmental third party can help you frame your financial goals and get tools and resources to enact them.

Additional tips to reduce mental health costs while prioritizing self-care:

Five “New Normal” Self Care-Tips