Poll: Americans’ Rising Debt Leads to Sleepless Nights

For millions of Americans who can’t stop thinking about their rising debt, dreaming it away is not an option. "A lot of debt can make it harder for people to sleep," Corey Backes, a director and an ex-counselor at the Debt Counseling Corp. in Hauppauge, said yesterday.

They also get sick, according to the results of a new Associated Press-AOL Health poll. Respondents revealed that stress created from rising debt brought on neck pain and headaches, ulcers, severe depression and even heart attacks.

Dr. Elizabeth Carll, a clinical psychologist and author in Huntington, said the results are not surprising. She’s noticing more health-related issues in people whose businesses go under. "They might feel severe anxiety or find they are having panic attacks or bouts of depression," she said. "Once the business has deteriorated, debt increases; and from that comes great stress."

The study was conducted March 24-April 3 with 1,002 adults in all states except Alaska and Hawaii. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Among respondents:

27 percent had ulcers or digestive tract problems, compared with 8 percent of those with low levels of debt stress.

23 percent had severe depression, compared with 4 percent with low debt stress.

6 percent reported heart attacks, double the rate for those with low debt stress.

Michael Fritz, president of Atlantic Credit Foundation Inc., a Dix Hills nonprofit, said one client with $120,000 in credit-card debt sounded stressed over the phone, which Fritz said could lead to stomach-related issues and gastrointestinal disorders.

But at least people aren’t suffering in silence over their debt. One credit counselor was nearly too busy yesterday to comment. "Because of the situation [more people with more economic problems], we are swamped," said Jane Ribera of South Shore Credit Consulting in Lindenhurst.