Title: Killer loans — college debt triggers depression and suicide | Salon.com
Headings: Killer loans — college debt triggers depression and suicide
Killer loans — college debt triggers depression and suicide
All debts are burdensome. Why is it that student loans, in particular, give people so much emotional distress?
By Victoria Wang
Why student loans are especially toxic
Victoria Wang

Content: This is not the first research on the mental toll of student loans. Over the past few years, many researchers have correlated student debt with poor psychological functioning. However, it is a topic virtually ignored by the media. A 2015 study found that the link between student loans and mental and emotional dysfunction persists across all income and social groups in the US. And at least one study revealed the physical and social effects of debt-related stress. In 2017, a financial advising company called Student Loan Hero did a survey of over 1,000 student borrowers. More than 70 percent reported suffering from headaches, insomnia, and other physical symptoms of anxiety, which sometimes lead to self-imposed social isolation. Advertisement: “I avoid doing things with friends and family,” one respondent said, “because I don’t want them to know how broke I am.” “Student loan–induced stress is threatening to take over the lives of borrowers,” the survey concludes.