This is NPR's Life Kit.

Papercuts.

Bodily fluids.

My irrational fear of spiders.

That giant earthquake destined for California.

I'm Andy Tagle, one of the producers of this show.

And that was a short list of things I'm more comfortable talking about than money.

If you could make a long list like this of your own,

you too could be dealing with money avoidance.

If we have to pay the bills, we might notice that we suddenly find a place in our house or apartment that needs cleaning.

Because we're going to procrastinate and avoid paying the bills.

That's Judson Brewer, a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author of the new book, Unwinding Anxiety.

Train your brain to heal your mind.

He says, money avoidance is the practice of ignoring our financial situations.

Often to our own detriment.

It can pop up in a lot of different ways.

There can be all sorts of signs, including procrastination, the turning away,

just avoiding conversation about money, not opening our bank account apps.

All of those are good signs of money avoidance.

Brewer says, dealing with your personal finances,

regardless of your situation, can be deeply uncomfortable for a million different reasons.

Whether you're worried about keeping the lights on or regretting all of that holiday spending,

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