Did you know that the American Psychological Association claims 80% of adults suffer from ‘money anxiety?’ Of course, tax time is the most money anxiety-producing time of the year, so I’ve put together three steps to help you change the way you approach your taxes.
And I’ve even got some GOOD news about it! With little exception, the anxiety we feel is all in our heads. Literally!
As April 15th looms ever closer, the momentum builds in our brains to create a ‘fight, flight or freeze’ response. This is created by the part of the brain called the amygdala.
This neurological nuclei works well in allowing us to “take care of business” but when chronically stimulated, this over-achiever produces a whole lot of anxiety.
The amygdala is linked to our declarative memory, providing us with information from previously experienced events that must be consciously recalled. It is the part of the brain that is activated when we are forced to remember negative experiences. It is also linked to our episodic memory, helping us to recall our personal emotional and sensory experience of an event.
Here is how it plays out in how we approach Tax Season:
Fight: We dig in our heels and replay our mental story that taxes are evil and we don’t want to do them.Flight: We panic and frantically go through our accounts, looking for each and every tax deduction.
Freeze: We let our fear build like an invisible monster with whom we have an inevitable date, similar to death.