A study has ranked the most stressful situations for the human brain, revealing that financial strain is comparable to a major life event like a difficult breakup.
Neuroscientist Dr Jack Lewis took 1000 participants in Europe and the US through an Implicit Reaction Test. The assessment determined whether stress was high or low across a series of common circumstances.
The results? The stress of going through a divorce or break up (highly stressful for 91% of people) was found to be similar to the prospect of losing a job (90%) or an unexpected cost such as a broken boiler (90%). These issues were closely followed by other money worries, like a credit card is declined (88%) and a missed mortgage payment (86%).
In addition, the research found that although women are more likely to feel stressed overall, they find financial stress less worrisome than men. “58% of the most stressful scenarios were financial for men, compared to 47% for women.”
Although we often hear that money doesn’t make us happy, several studies like these, show that having money worries definitely makes us unhappy as it causes us stress.
