Did you know that listening to classical music has been proven to lower blood pressure, make us more emotionally available, help us sleep better and relieve anxiety? Ironically, our emotions around money can achieve the exact opposite!

Firstly, if money brings up a lot of emotions for you, you’re not alone. Financial expert Ramit Sethi (on a blog for The Harvard Business Review) reminds his readers that our relationship with money is just as personal and valuable as any other relationship.

It’s okay to feel emotional about money. We should take our emotions seriously, but we should not always take them literally. This is because our emotions tell OUR truth, not THE truth. As a relational species, we hold many truths. So, one truth does not necessarily tell the whole truth.

In a recent Instagram post, therapist Jake Ernst talks about how we need to use our emotions to help us understand our values, fears, needs, and wants. We need to let these emotions play out whilst being aware that whilst we may be getting an accurate read on a situation as it applies to us, it may be an inaccurate read on how others perceive the same situation.

The triggered emotions may be a valid response, but that doesn’t mean they’re an effective way of dealing with our anxiety, frustration or anger. Ultimately, it’s helpful to remember that our emotions will always hold a paradox. To help us manage these paradoxes, we can educate ourselves about money and open up conversations that allow us to be vulnerable with people we trust. Often, the fear of money comes from a lack of knowledge or awareness about it, or from feeling unsafe and judged.

When we’re able to manage our emotional responses to money, we can choose to become inspired by money. This is a positive attitude, and it’s something we can proactively choose; emotions are not something we can choose, but we can choose our attitude. Instead of focusing on what we don’t have, we can think about what money can buy or help us achieve. Don’t just focus on the materialistic aspects but also the experiences money affords.

And, if you find yourself in an emotional spiral, try to interrupt that by speaking to someone you trust, doing something you love or simply listening to some classical music. It works!