Some people are broke and feel fine. Others are stable and feel one bad week from disaster. When the feeling about your money doesn’t match the facts, that’s money dysmorphia — and it quietly drives a lot of bad decisions.
Where it comes from
Your relationship with money was mostly written before you earned any of it: what you saw growing up, scarcity you lived through, comparisons you can’t switch off. Those old scripts run in the background and color every number on your screen.
Why it costs you
If money feels scary no matter the balance, you either over-restrict (and rebound-spend) or avoid looking (so leaks grow in the dark). Either way, the feeling — not the math — is steering.
Close the gap
- Look at the real number. Avoidance feeds the distortion. Facts shrink it.
- Name the script. “I feel behind” is a feeling, not a fact. Say which one is talking.
- Define “enough.” Anxiety has no finish line until you draw one.
Rewiring those scripts is exactly what The Broke Brain ($39) is built for — or start with the free Money Leak audit.
Educational content only. Not financial advice.