Are You a Slave to Debt?


Are you a slave to debt?

The old cliche that money can't buy happiness is a dreadful over simplification of facts. There is no joy to be found in not paying bills. 

A study of 33,720 U.S. households published in the January 2016 edition of Psychology Science found that those with higher levels of unemployment were more likely to purchase over-the-counter painkillers. Debt has very real effects on the body. In medieval times, life was very cruel when it came to debts. 
In medieval times, there was debt bondage.  This is what people did when they borrowed money and then offered their labour as security for the loan.They could pass this onto their children.  

Debt slavery was when a creditor made you a slave in lieu of payment towards your debt. In some countries like Greece, there was a time limit for how long a person could be in debt slavery. There were beatings and Floggings that sometimes came with debt. But you could be put into the stocks in the square and people could then throw things at the already humiliated person.  There were no restrictions as to what they could throw, and so this was a very dangerous practice. Authorities designed this public humiliation to create a fear of defaulting by other debtors.  In France, a church could excommunicate a defaulter by a request for the creditor. This put your very soul at risk.  

In modern society, we do not have these types of harsh problems. but we have methods that can measure some effects of the mental stress of debt. Many people go into debt denial. Typically, this would be a withdrawal from anything that allows the person to focus on the debt. 
This ranges from not paying attention to admin, which caused you to underestimate the dent. Not answering a phone for fear that it is a creditor. Not opening bills or emails that you fear have messages about debt. Minimising the situation by telling yourself that everyone is in the same situation.  In December, we often have holidays. Being at work helps you to focus on routine and gives some distraction to debt.  But in the holidays when children and friends have expectations, there is the temptation to overspend and then having to deal with those problems in January.

In the first book, in the series The Chronicles of Nadine, (Book one - The Great Dragon rescue) I have a character called Lord Logan, who devised a system of dealing with debt. Debtors could work off their debt to a creditor a few hours a week. The hours were in a roster managed by Lord Logan’s administrators. They allowed no debt slavery, nor were children ever permitted to be taken as indentured servants. And the creditor had no further claim once the administrator had signed off that they the debtor had cleared the debt.  This allowed villagers to continue with their normal trade, by only having a few hours a week they had a commitment to the debtor.
Trying to manage debt can make you feel paralysed.  But give you self one small task to do per day or per week that will help you to build a better future. Even if it is just filing your bills.  Each step that you take will build up your emotional muscle and move you a small step away from victim mode into empowerment mode. Find a local debt counsellor or even a trusted friend to walk with you on your journey.

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https://www.amazon.com/Great-Dragon-Rescue-Med…/…/B07XDHR25R

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