Bankruptcy

Recovering from bankruptcy ? emotionally

By David Leibowitz, Illinois and Wisconsin Bankruptcy

People in who face bankruptcy often find it to be an emotional experience. They have been hounded and abused by creditors. This places them in a tenuous situation emotionally.

Bankruptcy lawyers – now authoritatively considered to be “Debt Relief Agencies” by the United States Supreme Court – often find that their clients need more than just legal relief. They need emotional relief too. We frequently refer clients to professional counselors. We are not really Emotional Relief Agencies.

Although you come to see your bankruptcy lawyer for legal help – the elimination of debt you get through bankruptcy and a bankruptcy discharge – we often find that you need help dealing with the trauma of debt. It is almost as though you are facing a type of “post-traumatic stress syndrome.”

We lawyers haven’t been trained in psychology or social work. However, with experience, we have learned that you, our clients, need tender loving care when facing bankruptcy.

So as an attorney, I’ve learned to give some counsel to our clients recovering from the emotional trauma of debt.

Start each day with gratitude

We can be grateful for every day we are alive. We have our life, we have our life’s experience, and without the burden of debt, we face the day fresh with the potential to do the very best we can. So I say Live Gratefully.

Live life your life with a purpose

Each of us has unique skills and gifts as a human being. We have the potential each day to use these skills and gifts to the best of our ability. In so doing, we can make the world a better place for ourselves and all whose life we touch. So I say Live Purposefully.

Devote your purpose with gratitude for those you love and those who love you

If you wake up with gratitude for what the day has to offer, and you put your powers to use in a purposeful way, it will redound the benefit of those you love and those who love you. So I say, Live Lovingly.

These ideas have been very helpful to my clients who are recovering from the trauma of debt and are valuable tools to develop the emotional resources to achieve financial recovery.

Full post as published by Bankruptcy Law Network on March 12, 2010 (boomark / email).