Mind Moves: The stress of indebtedness can cause mental ill health. It can end a marriage. It can ruin a reputation. It may deprive a person of their home and their livelihood. It can destroy trust between husbands and wives and put pressure on families.
Being in debt can bring fear of every phone call, knock on the door, letter in the post or person passing by. It is humiliating for most. It can take a long time to retrieve financial security, even longer to achieve creditworthiness, and a lifetime to repair the personal relationships that may have been damaged.
One of the most destructive aspects of debt is when one spouse accrues it and the consequences are inflicted on the other.
Alcoholism, gambling, ill-advised investments, fiscal risk-taking and financial infidelity double the debtors.
Financial infidelity begins when one spouse hides their earnings, assets, spending, loans, investments or money from the other. It signifies serious distrust in the relationship. For some it is driven by insecurity: their hidden stores in the event of being left in the cold.
In the past, hiding finances was predominantly a male "entitlement", as males earned what was required for the family. Now there are increasing numbers of women holding assets, hiding their purchases, halving what they say they spend and secreting "get away" money should the marriage prove unsustainable.
But apart from the fear of marital breakdown, there are many other reasons why indebtedness occurs. As mortgages escalate, living costs soar, incomes shrink relative to earnings, expenditure and lifestyle expectations, the ratio of debt to income is increasing.
Some debt is due to mismanagement or poor personal control. Some debt arises unexpectedly through an accident or illness that drains saving. Unsolicited credit approval, increased limits, additional loans and "free credit" on purchases have made many succumb to debt.
Fortunately, unsolicited loan offers will soon be prohibited, for it is too easy to sign a form, pop a pin number and procure a debt. Making just minimum payments on credit cards disguises the amount one has spent and the growing amount that is owed, until it all descends in a landslide of demands, final notices, orders for immediate payment and threatening statements.
Limitless credit can become an incredible limit on life. The swift change from warm credit offers to cold threats of court lend credence to Bob Hope's definition of the bank as "the place that will lend you money if you can prove you don't need it", and Mark Twain's observation that a banker is "someone who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining and takes it back when it starts to rain".
Such metaphors explain why saving for a "rainy day" was the preoccupation of former generations who knew there were no shields from the harsh reality of needing money and not having it.
Psychology offers some explanations for debt. One is "the third-person effect". This is the mechanism by which most of us believe that it is other people who succumb to consumerism. Research shows that while people claim to pay their credit card in full each month, self-deception is rife.
Most people are susceptible to the seduction to spend "because you are worth it". In a world that makes many feel worthless, valuing oneself with goods can be a substitute. Money buys momentary happiness and long-term debt. Terms like "the urge to splurge" and "shop till you drop" trivialise the aching loneliness that drives many to console themselves in shops.
A major factor in indebtedness is the unreality of passing the plastic. Carrying cash may have its pitfalls, but counting out cash brings reality to buying. Indeed, one of the first money-management maxims for over-spenders is to "shred the cred" and only use cash.
The psychological consequences of being in debt are many. Most describe terrible stigma. There is an acute feeling of failure, a demeaning loss of independence, and the shock of sudden lifestyle change.
This can isolate people from their friends, as they are now unable to "pay their way". Luxury items may be removed, cars may have to be sold, holidays cancelled and there is not one euro of credit leeway until payday.
Some people panic, some continue in denial, some co-operate and recoup their "creditability", but many declare bankruptcy, a practice that is increasing as taxes, divorce, illness and the inability to face the impecuniousness of repayments make it an attractive immediate option.
Most suffer depression and sadly some cannot face the future.
It is important that people confront their debt before it confronts them, negotiate realistic repayments and address the issues that brought them to substitute things for life in the first place. Remember, real help is there and "you are worth it".
Marie Murray is director of psychology at St Vincent's Hospital Fairview in Dublin.