The psychology of going from broke to flush: lived a very frugal life with no debt up until buying a home with a mortgage. Not dealing well with being in debt. I'm working too much in order to pay it off.

OK, i'm not in the .1%, but I feel you. I've been in a similar situation and felt the same way.

First, keep in mind that your house is worth a lot more than your debt. So you can sell it at any time, even for sub-market value, and be in pretty good shape.

The best thing for alleviating worry is cold, hard, cash savings. So switch to making a reasonable minimum payment and start saving instead.

You'll pay a little more in interest, but it's worth it for flexibility and peace of mind. If your interest rate shoots up, you can always take the saved amount and drop it on the mortgage. Personal finances are personal, and thus math is not the only consideration.

I suggest making a plan, something you can hold on to. Outline what you will do in the event of various contingencies, such as income loss, interest rates going up, housing market crash, etc. I think you will find that you have lots of options. And your options will only improve as your savings account grows.

One thing that helped me mentally when my house was underwater was knowing that worst case I could just up and walk away. Sure my credit would be trashed, but I'd still have my savings. I would never want to do that, but having it in my back pocket as an option was incredibly comforting.

But I think your biggest problem is anxiety itself. I have severe anxiety and I know of what I speak. It doesn't need a cause, it just is. You need to deal with that as it's own issue.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and speculate a little. I could be wrong.

I think your anxiety is not actually about the debt. The debt is a convenient focus for it, but it might be more about your increased respnsibilities. Or something else.

When I started making good money for the first time, I was terrified that something would happen to take it away. The better I did, the worse I felt. Until I eventually got used to the new normal.

Whatever it is, I suggest tackling the anxiety as a separate issue. Some good starting points are exercise (like daily walks), yoga, meditation, and reserved "me" time. The right kind of pills can also get you through a rough patch.

Also deep, slow breathing. I know all this stuff sounds hokey, but it really works.

I'll tell you this: pushing yourself to work harder is only going to make the anxiety worse.

Good luck.

/r/personalfinance Thread