<prompt> Human: I honestly dont know which subreddit this should be in, so you have my apologies if I got it wrong...Im in my late 20s, and over the past 5-6 years accrued about 35k in unsecured debt, plus another 35k in an auto loan - all of which are now in default. My bank accounts are less than empty, many of my bills went unpaid over the last few months. I have late and overdraft fees everywhere. I willfully acted irresponsibly. I was severely depressed. If youre interested enough, look at my history and you can kind of see what Ive been going through.The fact is that I realized if I were ever to come back to the US, I needed to take care of this all sooner rather than later. My current thought is bankruptcy as I really have nothing to lose. My vehicle was repossessed. I discardeddonated most of my possessions before leaving.Im not sure if this has any relevance, but Im very good with my money and before I dropped everything I never once neglected a financial obligation. I had a mid-700s credit score lowered only by my debt-to-income ratio and a few recent inquiries, I just made poor life decisions lots of moves, periods of depression that led me to splurge on worthless shit that caused my debt to compound. I was paying it off - about 1,200month - and not accruing any new debt.The problem was it would take an additional five years or so to pay off and I was too down on myself to wait. In all honesty, I was looking for an easy way to start fresh and still am. I know that I got myself here, how I got myself here, and all I want is to selfishly have a new beginning. I never had debt before I fell into this hole and would love to go back to a debt-free lifestyle.I used to make very good money, but I am extremely hesitant to go back to that lifestyle. I want simplicity and a far better work-life balance. The only way I see being able to resolve this situation without debt forgiveness is to go back to the lifestyle that sent me here.Is this feasible? Is a bankruptcy the right choice? How would you proceed in my situation?  <response>: Reading your post I realize that I am very fortunate simply in the timing of my depression. I didnt have the ability at the time to really run up too much debt. I maxed out my credit, but since I was still in college my limit was not too high. When youre depressed there is the added superhuman ability to completely avoid any problem by just not thinking about it. I call it ostriching. Trademarked spicy_mayoAnyways, advice time: I dont think that working in IT was the real reason for your problem. You said so yourself, This job is arguably the best Ive had. It has its ups and downs just like anything, but its good people, challenging work, and a relaxed environment with plenty of trust. It sound like the problem was unmanaged depression. Were you seeing a therapist? Were you on medication? Etc.You hit a point where you said fuck it Im off to Asia. And thats why youre here. My suggestion would be to talk to a professional about your mental health and get back into the career that you prepared for in college. The job itself did not put you in this position, it was your choices during this period. Maybe bankruptcy and living an ascetic lifestyle close to the poverty line is the right solution for you. But if you dont address the issues that got you here in the first place you are going to repeat this cycle ad infinitum until you do something you cant undo. 