Debt has started changing the way I think about my own worth

Dear Delyara, The way I now instinctively cut myself first. The way I look at my own needs like optional extras. The speed with which I say no to comfort, to replacement, to support, to anything that would make daily life softer for me personally. I have let money pressure teach me that I am the easiest place to subtract from. I know that sounds bleak. It is also true. Debt has entered not just the budget but my self-concept. It has made me feel smaller, riskier, less allowed to want. That is an emotional injury as much as a financial one, and I am tired of pretending otherwise.