Coping with money anxiety: Clinical psychologist Dr Rebecca Ray shares advice for what to do on Sylvia Jeffreys’ podcast

If you’re worried about money in 2025, you aren’t alone.

In fact, latest research suggests almost half of all Aussies (46 per cent) started this year in debt.

With the cost of living on the rise, it’s no wonder more than half of Aussies entered 2025 worrying they won’t meet their financial goals this year. 

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In the latest episode of The Pay Off with Sylvia Jeffreys, clinical psychologist and best-selling author Dr Rebecca Ray chats to Sylvia about how money stress can manifest itself and her best tips on how to manage these concerns. 

“We often hear people say money doesn’t buy you happiness. Is that true?” Jeffreys asks.

“The research tells us that it actually does up to a certain amount … It’s based on being able to meet your basic needs and also have a little bit left over for living well”, Ray explains. 

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“It’s not that you have to be a millionaire… It’s more that you don’t need to go to sleep wondering where your next meal is gonna come from, or whether or not rent has actually been covered.”

Stress, worry, anxiety, fear – it’s easy to be consumed by these emotions. So how can we better manage them? Ray has a few (proven) ideas. 

To listen to Episode Thirteen of The Pay Off with Sylvia Jeffreys, press play below or tap here – Episode Thirteen | Your Money Mindset Will Make Or Break You with Dr Rebecca Ray

“The most effective thing that I can teach listeners without actually sitting in front of them is to understand that sometimes just getting distance from your mind is a really powerful thing to do,” she says.

“You can either label your mind by saying ‘my mind is worrying right now’, or you can write the thoughts down so they get out of your head.

“What that does is it contains the thoughts, and it also actually gives you a place to look at the thoughts rather than them just spiralling into a snowball in your head.”

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“If your anxiety has gotten too big around money and let’s say it’s stopping you from sleeping, one of the most effective things to do is to understand that when your limbic system is taking control like that, there’s no amount of ‘logicing’ your way out of that emotional state,” Ray continues.

“Instead, we need to ground the emotional state or calm the nervous system… And you can do that by slowing your breathing down.

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“Just breathing in for three seconds and out for three seconds for 10 breaths sends messages to your nervous system that there’s no need to panic.

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“You can focus on your senses. What can you see? What can you hear? What can you feel? What can you taste? Or think of as many animals as you can starting with a letter of the alphabet”. 

“It sounds ridiculous, but I promise you it works because it gives your mind something to do.”

For more tips on helping manage anxiety and stress around money, make sure you check out the latest episode featuring Dr Rebecca Ray on The Pay Off with Sylvia Jeffreys.   

The Pay Off with Sylvia Jeffreys is out now and a new episode publishes for free every Thursday. Search “The Pay Off” in your podcast app or tap here.

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

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