You probably think a lot about the relationships in your life, such as your relationships with people, your relationship with food and your relationship with fitness. But when you hear the word relationship, you probably dont think much about money.

However, its safe to say that many people have an unhealthy relationship with money. This could appear as seemingly normal things like losing track of credit card debt or attaching your value to your salary.

Having a healthy relationship with money is pretty straightforward but also tough in our dollar-driven society. According to Dasha Tcherniakovskaia , a financial therapist in Massachusetts, having an optimal relationship with money means treating money simply as currency that we use to purchase goods and services and to save for the future.

If you have a healthy relationship, you look at money as inherently neutral, she said. That would be ideal, but in reality, we all learn to assign our own meaning to money, Tcherniakovskaia noted. Phrases like money doesnt grow on trees or money is evil contribute to that non-neutral meaning.

So, just how healthy is your relationship with money? Below, experts share the red flags that indicate your view on money may be affecting your mental health. (Plus, they offer some advice on how to reframe your thinking to be more financially healthy.)

First things first: If you do not earn enough money to meet your basic needs, that does not mean you have a bad relationship with money.

If you are struggling to pay for your living, whether thats rent or mortgage, or you cannot pay your bills, if your basic needs are not met, were not talking about your relationship with money yet, said Aja Evans , a licensed mental health counselor who specializes in financial therapy in New York City.

Not earning enough money to pay for the basic needs of you and your family is not reflective of a bad relationship with money, its reflective of much larger issues in our society.

We have to make sure you are in a financial place of some level of stability before we can start even talking about your relationship with money, Evans added.

I dont want people to think, Oh, I cant make my bills. My basic needs are not met. My relationship with money is bad. That is not the case, she stressed.

Not checking your balances could be a sign of an unhealthy relationship with money.

Avoidance is a coping behavior that mental health specialists have identified as being used in a number of situations. This could look like not going to the doctor to dodge news on a diagnosis or putting off a tough conversation with a loved one.

Avoidance is a coping mechanism within financial therapy, too. According to Evans, if you find yourself leaning into avoidance to deal with your money habits like ignoring your debt or not checking your bank balance you are exhibiting unhealthy behavior when it comes to money.

A lot of people use [avoidance] to cope ... you swipe [your card] and you hope it goes through but then you dont check, Evans said. Its more about, what am I going to do if it doesnt go through as opposed to working on a solution based in knowing what is happening with your finances.

This can lead to anxiety about your financial situation. How can you possibly feel calm if you worry about your card being declined every time you swipe?

So can limiting beliefs around money.

As mentioned above, a healthy relationship with money is a neutral one. And if you have certain limiting beliefs about money, your relationship is anything but neutral, according to Tcherniakovskaia.

Limiting beliefs are any belief thats not neutral that money is evil, or we dont deserve money, she said.

The beliefs restrict you (whether subconsciously or consciously) in many ways. For example, if you think money is bad, you may not try for a promotion because you dont want to be greedy or evil once you have a higher salary.

These limiting beliefs can look vastly different from person to person, but Tcherniakovskaia said in order to identify your limiting belief, you should think about the rules your family had around money as a child. Was saving money prioritized? Were you reprimanded when you spent money? Or did your family never discuss money because it was shameful?

Its important for people to get to the bottom of their limiting beliefs, Tcherniakovskaia said.

If youre unsure how you feel about money, you can do a simple word association activity, Tcherniakovskaia said. Come up with associations to some simple words such as money, to receive, to give, to take, salary, bank, income, employment and see what comes up.

Are they positive associations or negative associations? From there, you can identify your conscious or subconscious money beliefs, she said.

According to Tcherniakovskaia, positive associations include using money to create safety or to purchase goods and services. Negative associations include anything status-related or ideas that money fuels ones desirability.

Its OK for these limiting beliefs to change. Your financial situation is probably different than it was when you were a child and it may be doubly different if you have a partners money beliefs to factor in, too.