Heart Health and Family Finances
Bad health can have a major impact not only on an individual’s life, but also on the lives of those around him or her. Also, the effects of poor health reverberate out to the community and this means that just about every social setup is affected in one way or another. This is why it’s important for one to adopt healthy lifestyle habits because however much one may work to secure their financial future, it will all be meaningless if they are unable to enjoy the gains due to poor health.
Chronic illnesses such as heart disease often arise due to unhealthy habits like smoking, bad diet, excessive weight and failure to exercise. Once the disease develops, it can be quite hard on the patient. The person may feel hopeless and they may just want to give up on life, while family members may not know how to react to the situation. The good thing however is that there are many support groups, book and journals from which one can acquire the information they need in order to provide a family member with the needed support.
How Bad Health Can Affect Family Resources
Bad health can cause major interference with the financial well being of a family. Increased healthcare costs are one of the main effects of poor health. When someone has a terminal illness for instance, they will often be required to buy different medications in order to keep the condition in check. This therefore means that a larger portion of the family budget will be redirected into treatment costs. If a family has a low to medium income, catering for such health issues can even be more challenging. As a result, the adult members of the family can get distressed and this can be passed on to the children.
In addition, healthcare for a terminally ill patient can be very expensive and quite stressful if a patient does not have the needed cover. This means that a family may also accumulate medical debts particularly where the finances are not well managed. Many families with low income struggle to balance different demands, and the only way they manage to stay on top of such expenses is by working with a strict budget. Though even with this, some are still forced to obtain loans or to refinance their homes to pay off medical debts.
Other than that, a family can be hindered from making any savings. Basically, in most cases, the earnings obtained will be channeled into catering for the sick individual, and this means there will be fewer resources to spare –the finance status of the family unit is put at risk. A family may even be forced to choose between catering for medical expenses and other basic needs including rent, food and transportation. This means that a family can encounter extreme financial problems whenever a serious health condition is involved. For such reasons, it’s always important to ensure that finance matters are kept in check –a family should put as much as possible into medical savings.
Emotional Consequences
While health conditions can cause financial strain, they can also lead to a lot of tension and anxiety. When it comes to taking care of a sick family member, feelings of fear, guilt, anger and resentment can be easily triggered. A family member may worry about how to stay in charge of the extra responsibility of providing care to the sick person, and they may also be troubled about what will occur in the event that the illness progresses. One may equally feel guilty for being unable to provide better care, even as some members may try to do everything on their own as they try to help out the sick person. In such instances, it’s important to talk about the problem with a friend or someone trustworthy and ask for a helping hand whenever possible.
Author Bio
Sarah Daren is a writer who creates informative articles relating to the field of health. In this article, she describes a few negative affects of poor heart health and aims to encourage further study through Online Radiology Degrees from ADU.
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Category: Family Finances
