Not everyone who avoids looking at their bank account is financially irresponsible. Some people grew up in households where money conversations preceded every serious conflict, and the avoidance is a nervous system trying to prevent a fight that already happened decades ago. - Silicon Canals

"The financial-literacy framing misses the point. Most financial advice assumes the problem is information. Give people the numbers, the framework, the spreadsheet, and behaviour will follow. It's a tidy theory that works for roughly the people who didn't need help in the first place."

"If money was the topic that preceded shouting in your house growing up, your nervous system catalogued that. It didn't catalogue it as a fact you could revisit later. It catalogued it as a threat shape."

"Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory describes the autonomic nervous system as the foundation of how we adapt to threat. The body scans for cues constantly. Tone of voice, posture, the look on someone's face as they open an envelope."

Money avoidance is frequently misinterpreted as immaturity, but for many, it is a response rooted in past trauma. Conventional financial advice assumes that providing information will resolve issues, but for those affected, viewing their bank balance triggers a physiological response linked to past experiences. The autonomic nervous system processes these stimuli before rational thought, making it essential to understand the emotional context behind financial behaviors. Trauma related to money can create lasting impacts on how individuals interact with their finances.

Read at Silicon Canals