ABSTRACT
Money worries are affecting more and more people. These are usually created by redundancy, sickness, or relationship difficulties: that is, circumstances outside of people's control. The extreme anxiety generated by some financial issues, and when people feel out of control of their finances, is being called "money sickness syndrome" (MSS). This refers to a group of symptoms of extreme anxiety generated by people feeling that they have lost control of their personal finances, or that they cannot see any way out of a debt situation. This could affect as much as 43% of people; nearly four million people admit that money worries have caused them actually to take time off work. Physical symptoms of MSS include shortness of breath, headaches, a tight feeling in the stomach, nausea, sleeplessness, diarrhoea, reduced libido, and a lack of appetite. Emotional symptoms of MSS include irritability, mood swings, nervousness, poor concentration, forgetfulness, poor judgement, difficulty in making decisions, depression, and negative thinking.
