Most of the time, I focus on the nuts and bolts of getting out of debt and living a life off the “credit grid.” But I’ve neglected a very important part of dealing with debt — depression.

Dealing with debt doesn’t just involve cold, hard numbers. It also involves a whole lot of negative emotions – and when you deal with these emotions long enough, they can manifest as severe, debilitating depression.

I’m no stranger to debt-related depression. I can recall many sleepless nights when I felt simply ovewhelmed by my financial situation, and I couldn’t remember ever being at peace, much less happy. On one such night, I sat in my living room while my family slept, and I thought,

“If I could just afford a gun, I’d kill myself right now.”

Yep. The only thing that kept me from ending it all, from having my family find my lifeless body slumped in a pool of blood, brains and bone fragments, was the fact that buying a gun was too costly a proposition.

If there’s a lower place one could be, I can’t think of it.

What drove me to that depth of despair? I suppose, in large part, it was a pervasive feeling of hopelessness. I doubted that I would ever be able to provide for my family’s needs. I looked at my wife’s “bucket list,” which she kept beside her laptop, and worried that I would never be able to finance the things she wanted to do during her life. I thought of my daughter’s dreams of becoming a fashion designer, and wondered how she would feel if she had to abandon her dream because I couldn’t pay for her design school tuition. But mostly, I feared what would happen to us if our mortgage company decided to foreclose on our home, and we ended up living in a shelter… or worse, on the street. Big, heavy shit.

I hope that you never find yourself thinking that way. Perhaps you deal with your debt more rationally than I did at that point. But if you can relate to this scenario, please know that you’re not alone.

First, the “worst case scenario” that might be running though your mind will probably never come to pass. As a human being, you have a remarkable capacity to adapt, to find solutions to your financial woes that will give you not only a new lease on life, but the opportunity to create a more abundant financial future than you ever thought possible. We are, by nature, creative beings… and no matter how far in the hole you may find yourself, there is always a way out.

Second, you are more than your debt. It can be all-consuming, I know. I spent every waking moment worrying about money, and even as I slept, those worries crept in… dreaming of various forms of impending doom was undoubtedly a reflection of the stress I experienced in my waking hours. But debt does not define you.

A brilliant friend of mine experienced severe depression after losing his choice job as a technical analyst. The company he worked for outsourced most of its manpower to India — this strategy allowed the company to save almost $7 million a year. But this decision screwed over the very people who had enabled the company to achieve market dominance… and my friend felt betrayed, hopeless and depressed.

What my friend needed was to understand that his knowledge and expertise — though shunned by his former employer — represented enormous market value. His employer was not the “be all, end all.” There were hundreds of companies, from start-ups to mid-sized corporations, that desperately needed his skills. Wallowing in depression not only prevented him from moving forward; it also prevented these companies from paying him for his expert knowledge.

Third, your debt is not a badge of shame, even if you can’t handle it right now. The albatross you think everyone can see isn’t really hanging from your neck (my apologies to Samuel Taylor Coleridge). And even if your friends, neighbors and family members could see your dead bird necktie, many of them would respond with understanding and recognition, rather than judgment. Given the current financial climate, becoming overwhelmed with debt doesn’t make you a deadbeat.

If you still feel like crap, consider this: A plan, no matter how nascent, can turn around your mood in an instant. What action, no matter how small, can you do today to reverse your financial situation? Perhaps you can find small ways to cut discretionary spending (while still leaving enough to enjoy life, of course). Maybe you have a business idea that you’ve never cultivated because you lacked motivation… and that idea could increase your income so you can start climbing out of your financial hole.

Whatever your plan, understand that planning for the future will give you the energy and enthusiasm you need to move from debt to prosperity; sitting around and worrying about your debt will not.

There is always a way out. Today, I challenge you to find it.

(Just to clarify, I am not a financial adviser, nor do I hold any mental health certifications or degrees. If you have persistent depression or thoughts of suicide, please contact a mental health professional or crisis center immediately.)