For me, during college, I got my first credit card. Between student loans and credit cards, I've been set up to fail at every turn. I have a crap ton of debt. My student loans? Paid in full. But the fact that I was paying them for nearly 15 years, and the money that took from me while I did it caused me to get deeper in debt from other sources of debt that has led me to be in a position where I'm still just as much in debt as I was when I graduated. The debt has shifted from student loans to mostly credit cards, but it hasn't gotten any smaller. I'm pretty sure I owe more now than I did when I graduated.
Financial debt compounds. Not only on itself, but it creates deficiencies in other areas requiring more debt to maintain balance. It grows like a cancer.
Sure, you can declare bankruptcy, and fuck yourself over for your ability to get any loans, but will that actually help? Does your income conver your expenses? Are you making a living wage? If not, and you go bankrupt, you might be screwing yourself over. It might be better to simply continue the cycle of violence until you earn enough to cover what you need to, then, when you're cash positive, declare it at that point.
I've been on the debt treadmill for over 20 years now. I continue to find myself in situations that require large sums to get resolved. Whether that's a broken vehicle, or another critical item I have to immediately pay for which was unexpected, or simple daily needs that have to be purchased when I'm at a low point in the availability of money. It grows.
I keep trying. I haven't needed to declare bankruptcy yet; but my debts are attached to me like a cancer, slowly killing me by starving my finances.
I'm not even poor. I work a decently well paying job. I'm just so heavily in debt, that I can't get out of it.