When the financial stress leaves, your decision-making capacity bounces back.But until that day arrives, what can you do about it?There's a lot of rhetoric about getting financially educated to solve this issue.While I'm generally supportive of education, expecting to solve your own problems when mired in stress is like expecting a drowning person to save themselves by reading a book on swimming.It's not the right time.You need help to get out of trouble first You're stressed at least in part because you don't know what you're going to do.It's time to change that, in three steps:If you're not sure what you would do to prevent or mitigate a risk that's gnawing at your brain, again, talking to a financial counsellor is a great place to start.Lacey Filipich is a financial educator and the author of Money School.This article contains general information only