No study behind this one. Evidence: worth trying
My bet: a number nobody else knows gets bigger in your head than it is on paper. Once you've said it out loud, it's back to being a number.
Pick someone who won't lecture you and won't reach for their wallet on the spot. A partner, a brother, the friend who's been short himself. You're not asking for anything. You're just not carrying it alone.
If the number is past what you can handle, the second person to tell is a free, independent debt adviser. Not one that charges you, and not one selling you a loan.
The wider case for having one person in the loop is in Fighting your battles alone.
Same theme: Money
Money
Automate the boring part
Set one bill, or one small transfer to savings, to go out automatically the day your pay lands. Then stop deciding about it.
10 minEvidence: worth trying
Money
Check the account on a schedule, not a mood
Pick one fixed time a week to look at your bank account. Sunday after breakfast, say. Put it in the calendar and look then, whatever you expect to see.
10 minEvidence: worth trying
Money
Open the one you're avoiding
Pick the one letter, email or app you've been avoiding. Write down the number you think is in it. Open it now.
5 minEvidence: worth trying