How to Protect Your Mental Health While Building a Debt Free Future

Let's talk about something nobody warns you about when you sign those student loan papers: the way money stress settles into your chest at 3 a.m. and refuses to leave. You know the feeling. That pit in your stomach when you check your bank account. The anxiety that sneaks up during what should be relaxing moments. The way your brain does mental gymnastics trying to figure out if you can afford both groceries and that textbook you need next week. Here's the truth: your mental health and your financial health are not separate issues. They're tangled together like headphones that have been in your pocket too long. And if you're trying to build a debt-free future while your mental well-being is hanging by a thread, you're basically trying to run a marathon with a sprained ankle.