Soulful Journeys - Fearing Financial Annihilation

In our journey through life, money is more than just a currency; it's a symbol of security, power, and control. But what happens when this symbol becomes a source of deep-seated fear and anxiety?

Let’s explores the often unspoken yet profound fear of financial annihilation – a dread deeply intertwined with our unconscious beliefs about money. Together, let’s unravel what this fear is, how it influences our lives, how to recognize its presence, and, importantly, how to move past it.

Transcript

Welcome to Soulful Journeys,

Transforming trauma and healing lives.

The podcast where we embark on a deeply transformative exploration of the human experience as we navigate the paths of resilience and recovery and renewal,

Guided by stories of triumph and healing.

In each episode,

We'll embark on soulful journeys and now and then I'll be joined by survivors and therapists and healers who've courageously transformed their trauma into sources of strength and wisdom.

Together we'll uncover the power of the human spirit and the tools that can help you to heal and thrive.

I'm your host Belinda and I'm honoured to be your companion on this empowering voyage of self-discovery and growth.

So let's deep dive into the heart of healing.

Today let's talk about overcoming the deep-seated fear of financial annihilation.

In our journey through life,

Money is more than just a currency.

It's a symbol of security,

Power and control.

But what happens when this symbol becomes a source of deep-seated fear and anxiety?

Let's explore the often unspoken yet profound fear of financial annihilation,

That dread that's deeply intertwined with our unconscious beliefs about money.

Together let's unravel this and what this fear is and how it influences our lives and how to recognise its presence and most importantly how to move past it.

Firstly,

Let's talk about understanding the fear.

The terror of financial ruin goes beyond the worry of not being able to pay bills.

It taps into a primal fear,

The fear of annihilation.

And this isn't just about losing money.

It's about losing our identity,

Our control and our safety net.

Often rooted in early life experiences,

Intergenerational and past life trauma,

It's also reinforced by societal pressures and this fear often lurks in the unconscious mind and it influences choices and decisions and behaviours without our conscious awareness.

How does this impact our daily life?

This fear can manifest in various ways from extreme frugality to reckless spending or an all-consuming pursuit of wealth.

It impacts relationships,

It impacts mental health and it impacts overall wellbeing.

The constant anxiety over the potential financial ruin can lead to extreme stress and it impacts our physical health through the nervous system.

So recognising this fear in our lives requires introspection.

It's in that gut-wrenching worry when you're thinking about money and the avoidance of financial planning or that disproportionate joy or despair over financial gains and losses and it's important to observe all of these emotions and physical reactions to understand the underlying fear.

Moving past and overcoming this fear involves a multifaceted approach.

It involves recognising and acknowledging and understanding the fear without judgement and that comes first.

Techniques from polyvagal theory,

Neuroscience and somatic therapy can be instrumental in this process.

The need to feel safe in your body is so important in order to begin processing the feelings and emotions,

To see completion of those waves of emotions because doing that and feeling it in your body is a key way of processing it in a healthy,

Regulated fashion.

Because you're essentially dealing with a trauma response,

Right?

And anything that takes that nervous system out of a regulated state is going to create dysregulation in the body somewhere and the dysregulated state can be different for everybody.

So practising mindfulness and getting back into the body and making your nervous system feel more regulated,

Feel more safe in your body helps get that emotional response under control and it sees completion.

So those adapted behaviours that you've done in order to feel safe,

Find completion,

Find safety and aren't an issue anymore moving forward.

And then bringing in the cognitive behavioural strategies can then help in aiding the restructure of those irrational beliefs and behaviours around the money and the self-worth because they all work together.

The following techniques are designed to bring awareness to the present moment and this will help to reduce the anxiety and it will help cultivate healthier relationships with financial matters.

The first one is mindful breathing.

Giving yourself the space and the time to practise slow,

Deep breaths will help to calm the nervous system.

Focus on the sensation of breathing.

Noticing the rise and the fall of your chest.

Noticing the weight on the surface underneath you.

Anchoring yourself into the present moment and allowing yourself that time and if you have thoughts racing,

Let them pass through like clouds.

They'll be back if they're important but for this moment you're just focusing on being mindful and present in your body.

The second one is a body scan meditation.

Now this involves laying down or sitting comfortably and mentally scanning your body from head to toe.

Noticing any areas of tension,

Especially when you're thinking about financial matters.

And when you do notice those areas,

Breathe into them to release the stress.

Bring the awareness to them because bringing the awareness in and recognising that that's where you feel the stress from finances,

That's enough to take the power away.

And that's what you're going for here.

And you can do that with anything,

It doesn't just have to be financial matters.

Just take the time to scan your body and feel where the stress is sitting.

And say hi to it.

Recognise it,

Acknowledge it.

Number three is journaling with awareness.

And this just involves spending a few minutes each day writing down your thoughts and feelings about money.

Doing this will help you notice if there's any patterns or triggers and you can do that without judgement because you're just observing them.

Number four is mindful observance of thoughts.

So when you find yourself worrying about finances,

Just pause and observe your thoughts as if there were clouds passing through the sky.

Acknowledge them,

But don't attach any stories to them and don't react to them.

Just let them pass through.

Number five is guided imagery.

Meditation guided meditations focused on abundance and safety.

And this is where you can visualise yourself in a place where you feel safe and secure and financially stable,

Where you're focusing on the details of this space.

Number six is mindful walking.

Take a walk,

Focusing on the sensations of your feet touching the ground with every step.

And it only has to be five minutes.

It doesn't have to be long if you're not able to do that.

It's about using the time to clear your head and your mind and connecting with your environment.

Number seven is gratitude practice.

Each and every day list three things that you're grateful for.

It can be the tiniest things or it can be huge things.

It doesn't matter what it is.

It's the things that you are grateful for and it's personal to you.

This practice shifts the focus from scarcity to abundance and it can positively change your perspective on finances and so many other things in your life.

Number eight is mindful listening to music.

Listen to calming music and pay attention to each note,

The rhythm and the lyrics.

This can be a soothing way of distracting from financial worries and to bring your attention back to the present.

Number nine is mindful eating.

Eating meals.

Focus on the taste,

The texture and the smell of your food.

This practice helps in grounding and it prevents spiraling thoughts about finances and anything else.

All of this stuff doesn't have to just be about finances.

It can be adapted to any part of your life.

Number ten is five senses.

So when you're feeling overwhelmed,

Pause and notice five things you can see,

Four things you can touch,

Three things you can hear,

Two things you can smell and one thing you can taste.

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

All of these things cost nothing.

All of these things can be done easily and they can be so instrumental in your healing journey and this journey is not just about eradicating fear.

It's about changing our relationship with it.

It's about learning to approach financial matters with a sense of mindfulness and rationality rather than fear or anxiety.

Overcoming the fear of financial annihilation is liberating and it opens doors to a more balanced and fulfilling life where decisions aren't dictated by fear but more by informed choices and inner peace.

Imagine a life where financial stability is a tool,

Not a chain and that's the promise of doing this profound inner work.

Thank you for joining me on another soulful journey.

I hope today's episode has brought you insights and inspiration and a sense of connection.

If you'd like to continue exploring transformative stories and healing practices,

Be sure to subscribe,

Rate and review the podcast.

Remember your journey is uniquely yours and your resilience knows no bounds.

If you have a story that you'd like to share or a topic that you'd like me to explore,

Reach out to me,

Your voice matters and together we can create and nurture that rich and safe container for healing and hope.

Until next time,

May your journey be soulful,

Your heart be light and your healing profound.

This is Soulful Journeys,

Transforming trauma and healing lives.