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I’ve had depression since I was 19,
including periods in hospital.
Despite this, I had been doing
well. But once again, I was caught by
depression when my family got into serious financial
difficulty.
How it started
Three years ago my husband and I started a
business. We borrowed £35,000, originally to extend our house.
I started noticing things were going wrong when my husband asked to
divert money into the business. We had problems in repaying an
£18,000 credit card debt. Then my husband told me about a
£25,000 bank loan, giving our house as a personal guarantee. For me
it was a massive shock.
Total loss
However, we tried to ignore the financial
problems, creditor phone calls and bank letters. Our business went
into liquidation and the debt caused family friction. Eventually, I
had a breakdown. I got depressed in a way I hadn’t been for 17
years and was put back on medication.
How a key worker helped
In the middle of this, I mentioned my problems
to a key worker at the day centre. She was not a ‘debt expert’, but
encouraged me to get debt counselling. It was the first time I
received that kind of advice and it was a major turning
point. It got me to actively seek help, to openly discuss debt
with my family and to stop ignoring the situation.
Regaining the strength
It hasn’t been at all easy, but little by
little we are climbing our way out of debt. There are still amounts
to be paid back or negotiated with the creditors, but I now feel I
have the strength to fight for a solution.
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