Are You In Debt Denial?

By Annette Miller

In more recent times I’ve developed a keen fascination towards the word “denial”. I’ve noticed its increasing prevalence throughout the mid 1990’s when psychological phrases previously reserved only for use by professionals became commonplace in the home, and one of the words that was at the forefront of this explosion was the word, you guessed it, “denial”.

Nowadays the word is liberally tossed around and has such broad application being used from anything ranging to a middle aged guy carrying a little extra weight around his middle thinking he looks great in a Baywatch cherry red speedo (I shudder upon writing this) all the way to the other side of the spectrum of a bad tempered woman refusing to admit she has anger issues.

According to my trusty companion the Encarta World English Dictionary, the word “denial” means “a state of mind marked by a refusal or inability to recognize and deal with a serious problem” and in any good rehabilitation program whether it be alcohol or drug in nature, a patient cannot get better unless they first admit to, or own the fact that they are an addict, and until they recognize this they can never be rehabilitated. In other words, if they remain in a state of denial, they will never get better.

So, just how many of us are comfortably riding on the “denial” wagon?

Could we possibly be in denial about our current debt level?

I know what you’re thinking, “debt and drugs are like chalk and cheese, they do not merit the same weight”, while this maybe true in the “harmful” sense of drugs, if allowed to, the denial of our debts can have detrimental effects of their own if we don’t get them under control.

How Can I Know If I’m In Debt Denial?

1. If you have no idea how much you owe, even a ballpark figure. How are you expected to get out of debt if you don’t know the extent of it? It’s the equivalent of slowly sinking on capsizing boat while your happily sipping pina colodas. Sooner or later the boat will go down if you don’t know the extent of the damage and repair the leak.

2. When you throw out your credit card statement before opening it or never open it at all.

3. Think that you’ll be fine continuing to pay the bare minimum even if you’re no meeting your current financial commitments.

4. Have more than 3 credit cards and don’t hesitate in getting another one even when you’re struggling to keep up with your present payments for existing cards.

5. Here’s a biggie, when your spouse doesn’t know the true extent of your debt, if you feel the need to keep secrets for fear of reprehension then you may have a serious problem you need to deal with.

Cure for Debt Denial – Rip That Band Aid Off

When I was a child, whenever I had a sore, my mother taught me to rip the band aid off in one go, it was less painful than to pick at the edges and tug slowly away at it.

I’m giving you the exact same advice, go ahead and rip that band aid off in one fell swoop, face the debt, embrace it by resurrecting those credit card statements from the dusty shoe boxes, call your bank, lending institution and creditors to get the full picture of your current situation.

Negotiate favorable terms and conditions to pay back your debts and honor them. Banks and lending institutions love it when you make an honest effort to pay them back plus it comes with the added bonus of strengthening your credit rating just by improving the regularity and consistency of your payments.

No matter how traumatizing this may be at first just remember this is a hug step in the right direction because you will never be free of debt if you have no idea how deep in you really are. Knowledge truly is power.