For Terrence Morrissey, being in debt took a constant mental toll.

鈥淚t robbed me of my piece of mind, robbed me of my dignity,鈥� said Morrissey, of 91原创. He didn鈥檛 want anyone to find out 鈥渨hat a failure I am.鈥�

He鈥檚 not alone. A survey by a British Columbia insolvency trustee found high levels of anxiety, stress and even suicidal thoughts among debt-ridden respondents.

Sands & Associates found that debt was a constant worry for almost two-thirds of contacts it surveyed.

鈥淵ou have this little fear all the time,鈥� Morrissey said.

Morrissey, a retired security officer, a former longtime manager with Hertz Rent a Car and a selfpublished author, found himself with about $70,000 in consumer debts at age 79 through admitted misspending with credit cards.

And while Morrissey wasn鈥檛 clinically diagnosed with a mental illness, the Sands & Associates survey found that 28 per cent of respondents had suffered from diagnosed depression, fuelled in part by debt worries, and 18 per cent said debt pushed them to dark thoughts of suicide.

鈥淚 had an idea but I didn鈥檛 know it was that severe, the non-financial impact of debt,鈥� said Blair Mantin, a partner in Sands & Associates and a licensed insolvency trustee.

The survey is the latest piece of research about the potential stress caused by the increasing amount of debt that consumers are carrying. A Manulife survey released Tuesday showed that one-third of British Columbians would have difficulty handling mortgage payments if they rose between six and 10 per cent.

Mantin said his firm wanted to look into the psychological stress of debt with its annual survey because the stigma around debt isn鈥檛 something that is talked about, despite signs of tension around higher debts that Canadians are carrying.

鈥淭he suicide metric was absolutely sobering,鈥� Mantin said of the survey results, because in 10 years of insolvency work he had only occasionally dealt with clients who confided they鈥檇 thought of harming themselves.

鈥淚 thought, 鈥榯hat鈥檚 the exception, it can鈥檛 be a significant part of our client base,鈥欌�� Mantin said. 鈥淏ut no, it鈥檚 between one-in-five or one-in-six.鈥�

The survey, conducted among 1,300 British Columbians, is a limited snapshot of people who have been in touch with Sands & Associates over debt troubles, mostly clients, However, Mantin said he believes it speaks to broader anxieties about debt.

鈥淚t鈥檚 probably less than 10 per cent of the population who will have to do a bankruptcy or consumer proposal,鈥� Mantin said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檇 say it鈥檚 a very high proportion of people who will feel some stress in their life, to a varying degree.鈥�

Respondents to the Sands & Associates鈥�2017 survey were 55 per cent female and 45 per cent male. About 40 per cent were between ages 40 and 54 and 22 per cent were 55-64.

Just over one third of respondents reported having consumer debts of $25,000 to $49,999. While those under age 30 had a bit less debt, at $10,000 to $24,999, Mantin said it was the group that felt more stress.

鈥淚t might be worse than experiencing (debt) problems later in life,鈥� he said.

However, debt can creep up on consumers of any age. Mantin said Sands & Associates hopes its latest survey gets people talking about resolving their debt with less stigma.

Morrissey declared bankruptcy, and not for the first time. He said the lesson in his story is not to ignore debt problems and get help sooner rather than later, because it can lift that tremendous psychological weight.

鈥淭ake control of it, stop spending it, pay it off and move on,鈥� Morrissey said.

鈥� Derrick Penner is a writer with the Vancouver Sun