We’ve all spent beyond our means at one time or another. For Dena Adams, 38, it resulted in her being declared bankrupt

“It’s perhaps no surprise that I cried as I left court after filing for bankruptcy. It was official – I now didn’t have a penny to my name. But as I walked out into the cold spring air six years ago, it was tears of relief, not sorrow, streaming down my face. For the past 15 years my debt had been an all-consuming secret that had made my life a living hell. And now, that nightmare was finally over.

Being in debt is a scary and incredibly stressful place to be. There were many times over the years when I’d contemplated taking my own life – out of shame, embarrassment and frustration. You can’t sleep at night, churning over the lies you’re telling to loved ones, or dreading what the morning will bring. Maybe I’d find another demand on the doormat that I’d have to hide from my husband – who had no idea of the extent of my debt when we married in 2008. I would get constant calls asking me to ‘discuss the matter urgently’ that I’d ignore until, accidentally, I’d answer one and face an angry voice pressing me for answers.

In the end I owed £30,000, but like most problems, it started small – a £100 overdraft at university, which I frittered away on nights out, clothes and takeaways. For me, it was an act of rebellion – my working-class parents had always been very careful with money and would never have allowed me to get into any kind of debt. As the money disappeared, I kept increasing my overdraft, thinking nothing of it. Everyone else seemed to be doing it, and in my mind things would change once I started earning. When I finally graduated, I owed over £5,000 on overdrafts.

After uni, I found a job quickly, but my wages couldn’t match my spending. When I hit my overdraft limit, I moved onto credit cards, even foolishly paying for friends when they were too broke to come out. Even as the figures reached huge proportions, I remained in denial, paying the bare minimum.

“Getting £30,000 into debt is easier than you think” One woman’s story of how bankruptcy freed her