Debt. For some of us, it’s not a bad thing. After all, it allows us to buy stuff like houses, cars, and second honeymoons in Paris. But, it can quickly transcend from not being a bad thing to being something that runs, and ruins, our lives.

For those who have a wallet full of maxed out credits cards or a mountain of outstanding balances, debt isn’t only a bad thing: it’s truly a four-letter word.

Overwhelming debt just doesn’t hurt us financially; it also hurts us in ways we might not even realize. It loans out our quality of life in the following manners:

Education: Debt, so often, begins in college. With credit card lenders swarming college campuses, offering concert tickets and movie passes to anyone who signs up, it’s hard to get a degree without getting a credit card. But, unfortunately, many students aren’t prepared for the responsibly that comes along with a Visa or MasterCard. Instead, they spend, spend, spend, squandering their savings and, in some instances, having to drop out of school to attend to their debt.

Health: Sure, we all know there are certain keys to good health: eat right, exercise, and get plenty of sleep. However, one thing that can keep you from doing any of these is stress.

Overwhelming debt causes stress, and stress hurts our well being. Not only can stress make us care less about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but it is also directly related to certain diseases. From the nuisance of a headache to a life threatening heart attack, from a compromised immune system to ridiculously high blood pressure, stress plays a role in so many illnesses.

Relationships: If you were to ask the typical married couple what they most often fought about, you probably wouldn’t hear them say the wife’s penchant for deep conversation or the husband’s failure to shut the bathroom door. Instead, you would hear them say money.

Money is a huge stressor in the lives of the married. It causes couples to get angry, worried, and take money matters out on one another. In certain cases, overwhelming debt can even lead to divorce. But, on the flip side, spouses who are financially unburdened are often much happier. The couples that pay (off their debt) together, often stay together.

Family: Being in a great amount of debt can affect your family physically, by having to do away with the annual family vacation or drastically reducing the amount of Christmas presents. But it can also affect them emotionally. When you are bogged down with debt, and worried about money, you may be anxious, depressed, and moody. This can all influence how much time you spend with your family and whether that time is of quality.

Career: Believe it or not, debt can prevent you from getting a job. In addition to reviewing your resume, checking work history, and speaking with personal references, many employers have now begun to check credit score. If yours is drastically low, or compromised by debt, your potential employer may view you as irresponsible, and change his mind about hiring you.

Performance: Even if your debt doesn’t keep you from getting a job, it can affect your performance. Preoccupation, be it with money, marriage, or fantasy football, has no place in the office. If you are preoccupied with debt, you will probably find that you aren’t living up to your potential. This can hurt your chance at advancement and bonuses and, in some instances, can even cost you your job.

The Next Generation: Not only can debt be passed down to children, but other things can be passed down as well. For instance, if a child grows up in an environment where his or her parents are perpetually in debt, they may learn that debt is simply a way of life. It can change the way they look at money and make them nonchalant about spending it.

Significant debt can also force parents to take certain measures, such as moving back home, relocating to a cheaper area, or pulling their children out of extracurricular activities. All of this impacts kids, often negatively.

Credit: Obviously, a huge amount of debt isn’t exactly good for the ol’ checking account. Late payments, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and wage garnishment can all wreck havoc on our credit score.

Unfortunately, this havoc wrecked doesn’t go away anytime soon. If you have a poor credit score, you can rule out being qualified for any kind of loan in the near future. This may hinder you from buying a house, buying a car, or even leasing an apartment. Bad marks on your credit can remain for seven years or ten years for bankruptcies, meaning that it can take almost a decade to repair a score that only takes a few mistakes to ruin.

Chance to Enjoy Life: Money might not buy happiness, but money problems sure can buy misery. Having a life filled with overwhelming debt forces your happiness to sit on the sidelines, waiting idling while financial frustration plays each down.

Not only does overwhelming debt physically keep you from doing things, as you may simply not be able to afford a trip to Mexico with your closest friends, but it also keeps you away emotionally. Even if you do decide that debt isn’t going to keep you from taking a trip to Mexico, you may spend all of your “fun in the sun” worrying about cost, stressing about every penny, and wanting to bury your head in the sand.

Makes Us Do Desperate Things: We’ve all heard the mantra “desperate times call for desperate measures.” But, unfortunately, when these ‘desperate times’ involve debt, the ‘desperate measures’ are often harmful and, sometimes, illegal.

Being in a lot of debt can virtually eliminate your ability to think logically. Things can seem so dire that the only way out is an insurance scam, company embezzlement, or a “get rich quick scheme” that you know is a bad idea from the start. Few good things come out of desperation.

Instead of getting desperate, try getting help.

Short of winning the lottery, there may be no simpler way to get out of debt than by seeking professional help. Professional debt relief puts your money where an expert’s mouth is.

A professional debt relief company will negotiate with creditors, stop calls and letters, and fight to get your debt reduced as much as possible.

Hiring a debt relief company helps you regain some of the control debt has taken from you. These agencies help you get out of debt and get on with your life.