Study: 62% of Americans Cut Back Elsewhere to Keep Paying for Stress Relief; Only 7% Seek Professional Help

New research from Drug Rehab USA finds 83% of Americans say their financial stress has not improved in the past year, while 1 in 5 has delayed or skipped therapy because of cost.

New research finds 83% of Americans say their financial stress has not improved in the past year, while 1 in 5 has delayed or skipped therapy because of cost.

TRAVERSE CITY, MI, UNITED STATES, October 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As rising living costs keep pressure on household budgets, many Americans are protecting the habits that help them cope, even when it means cutting somewhere else. A new survey from Drug Rehab USA finds that more than three in five Americans (62%) have sacrificed something else to keep spending on stress relief or leisure, while only 7% have sought professional support for stress or emotional strain.

The survey of 1,200 U.S. adults examined financial stress, coping habits, year-over-year changes in spending and debt, and whether people turned to those habits in place of professional support. More than four in five respondents (83%) said their financial stress has not improved over the past year, including 39% who are more stressed about money now than they were a year ago.

The findings suggest a feedback loop in which money pressure pushes people toward coping habits, those habits grow harder to control, and their cost adds to the strain that started them. That loop appears strongest among Gen Z, millennials and lower-income Americans, the groups with the least financial room to absorb it.

Key Takeaways

• 83% say their financial stress has not improved in the past year; 39% are more stressed about money now
• 42% say rising living costs have pushed them to lean more heavily on coping habits
• 62% have sacrificed something else to keep spending on stress relief, including 20% who cut groceries
• Only 7% sought professional support for stress; 53% turned to a coping behavior instead
• 45% say financial stress has made a coping habit harder to reduce, stop or control
• 20% have delayed or skipped therapy because of cost, and 9% have delayed addiction treatment or support services
• More than half (53%) saw at least one form of debt increase, led by credit card debt (34%)
• 37% of Gen Z delayed therapy because of cost, compared with 7% of baby boomers

Most Americans Say Money Stress Isn't Easing

Only 14% of respondents describe themselves as financially comfortable.

• 48% say they are stable but could be derailed by a layoff or medical emergency
• 35% say their finances are strained, and 2% say they are in survival mode
• 18% feel better about their finances than they did a year ago
• 9% say they now rely on coping habits significantly more than they used to, while 2% rely on them less

The strain falls unevenly by income. Among respondents earning under $50,000, 53% say their finances are strained or in survival mode, compared with 33% of those earning $50,000 to $100,000 and 16% of those earning more than $100,000. The findings suggest that for many households, coping habits are absorbing pressure the budget no longer can.

Sleepless Nights and Doomscrolling Lead the Rise in Everyday Coping

The habits most likely to have increased over the past year are the ones that cost little or nothing.

• Lying awake in bed (35%)
• Buying fast food and sweet treats (33%)
• Doomscrolling (29%)
• Gaming (27%)
• Making small impulse purchases (24%)
• Ordering food delivery (20%)

Escalation in substance use and gambling was sharpest among younger users. Among cannabis users, 19% of Gen Z said they were using more, compared with 3% of baby boomers. Among gamblers, 20% of Gen Z and 20% of millennials said they were betting more, compared with 6% of Gen X and 3% of boomers.

Nearly half of respondents (45%) said financial stress makes it harder to cut back on a habit, including 11% who called it significantly harder. The findings suggest gambling deserves particular attention, since it is the one habit that can appear to offer a way out of the financial problem driving it.

Streaming and Coffee Are the Hardest Comforts to Give Up

Asked which comforts were hardest to cut when money got tight, respondents named everyday luxuries first.

• Streaming (29%)
• Coffee or specialty drinks (27%)
• Food delivery (24%)
• Alcohol (21%)
• Cigarettes (17%)
• Cannabis (13%)
• Gambling (9%)

Only 19% said none of these were hard to cut. Spending moved in both directions. Alcohol spending fell for 23% of drinkers and rose for 11%, while gaming spending rose for 16% of gamers and fell for 9%. One in five respondents overall (20%) spent more on streaming services in the past year.

Which habits people keep also tracks with income. High earners were more likely than low earners to drink (77% vs. 63%), while low earners were more likely to use cannabis (39% vs. 30%), smoke cigarettes (37% vs. 23%) and vape (31% vs. 23%). The findings suggest small, familiar comforts hold their place in household budgets longer than conventional money-saving advice tends to assume.

Stress Relief Is Crowding Out Groceries and Health Care

For many respondents, stress relief has become a fixed monthly expense. Two in five (43%) spend at least $50 a month on it, 31% spend $100 or more, and 11% spend more than $200. To keep that spending going, 62% said they had sacrificed something else.

• Delayed a planned purchase (22%)
• Cut back on groceries (20%)
• Reduced or paused savings (15%)
• Put discretionary spending on a credit card (15%)
• Carried a credit card balance longer than planned (15%)
• Put off healthcare (11%)
• Used money intended for necessities (11%)
• Borrowed from family or friends (10%)

Some of that spending is kept out of view. One in five drinkers (20%) said they had hidden or downplayed their drinking from someone close, usually a partner or family member, and 22% said they had hidden or downplayed an online or impulse purchase. The findings suggest concealment may be an early sign that a habit has moved beyond a budgeting question.

Debt Is Climbing Fastest Among Younger and Lower-Income Americans

More than half of respondents (53%) saw at least one form of debt increase over the past year.

• Credit card debt rose for 34%, more than double any other category
• Medical debt rose for 13%
• Buy now, pay later balances rose for 9%

Debt increases skewed young. Nearly two-thirds of Gen Z and millennials (65% each) saw at least one form of debt rise, compared with 44% of Gen X and baby boomers. Student loan balances grew for 18% of Gen Z, compared with 9% of millennials and 2% each of Gen X and boomers. Debt also rose for 58% of low-income respondents versus 47% of high earners, and 29% of low-income respondents were unemployed, compared with 15% of high earners. The findings suggest younger and lower-income Americans are taking on long-term financial risk in exchange for short-term relief.

Coping Habits Are Standing In for Professional Care

Very few respondents sought professional help when stress became overwhelming. Only 7% did, while 53% turned to a coping behavior instead.

• Social media (27%)
• Alcohol (22%)
• Food delivery (19%)
• Gaming (19%)
• Cannabis (15%)
• Nicotine (12%)

Substitution rose sharply among younger respondents: 75% of Gen Z and 74% of millennials reached for a coping behavior rather than professional support, compared with 50% of Gen X and 34% of boomers. Gen Z was also far more likely to use social media as a substitute (43%, vs. 16% of Gen X and 11% of boomers). Income produced the widest substitution gap in the survey, at 67% of low-income respondents versus 47% of high earners. Men were more likely than women to substitute gaming (22% vs. 13%) or gambling (11% vs. 5%) for professional support, and more likely to have delayed addiction treatment because of cost (12% vs. 7%).

Cost is keeping many from care altogether. Respondents most often put off dental care (31%), followed by medical visits (29%), vision care (26%), therapy (20%) and prescriptions (20%). Among Gen Z, 37% delayed therapy because of cost and 18% delayed addiction treatment, compared with 7% and 1% of boomers. The findings suggest that for many younger Americans, the habits within reach have become a substitute for care that feels out of reach.

Taken together, the findings point to a widening gap between the stress Americans carry and the affordable help available to them. The coping habits in this survey are immediate and close at hand, while professional care can involve waitlists and out-of-pocket costs. Narrowing that gap, particularly for younger and lower-income Americans, may do more to change these patterns than advice to simply cut back.

View the full study here:
https://drugrehabus.org/financial-coping-habits-study/

About

Drug Rehab USA connects people struggling with substance use to treatment options and recovery resources across the country. Its work focuses on lowering the barriers of cost, access and stigma that keep people from getting help. When coping starts to outrun a person's control, Drug Rehab USA helps them find the next step.

Taylor Jay
Resolve Marketing
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