--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The student-loan crisis has an…" description: "\"The student-loan crisis has an underappreciated emotional valence too: The debt makes people miserable. In one survey, more than half of borrowers said..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/annie-lowrey-7218_crisis_the-student-loan-crisis-has-an-underappr_358204.jpg" --- # The student-loan crisis has an underappreciated emotional… ![“The student-loan crisis has an underappreciated emotional valence too: The debt makes people miserable. In one survey, more than half of borrowers said that they have experienced depression because of their debt. Nine in 10 reported experiencing anxiety.” quote by Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/annie-lowrey-7218_crisis_the-student-loan-crisis-has-an-underappr_358204.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/annie-lowrey-7218_crisis_the-student-loan-crisis-has-an-underappr_358204.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/annie-lowrey-7218_crisis_the-student-loan-crisis-has-an-underappr_358204.jpg) > “The student-loan crisis has an underappreciated emotional valence too: The debt makes people miserable. In one survey, more than half of borrowers said that they have experienced depression because of their debt. Nine in 10 reported experiencing anxiety.” [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Student debt not only strains finances but also harms mental health, causing widespread depression and anxiety among borrowers. **In simple terms:** Debt harms mental health. Key Takeaway Address debt to protect wellbeing. Themes financial stress mental health education policy wellbeing Mood concerned empathetic Type analytical informative When to use this quote - college graduates - loan counseling - policy makers - mental health professionals Key Concepts economic burden psychological impact social inequality Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions better support indebted students? - What policies could reduce debt‑related anxiety? A Different Perspective Depression may stem from multiple life factors, not solely debt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Student loan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/student-loan/) ## Related quotes > [The loan crisis and the increasing slashing of funds for students, coupled with the astronomical rise in tuition, represent an unparalleled attack on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-loan-crisis-and-the-increasing-slashing-of-funds-for-students/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Bad debt is debt that makes you poorer. I count the mortgage on my home as bad debt, because I'm the one paying on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/bad-debt-is-debt-that-makes-you-poorer-i-count-the-mortgage-on-my/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Promises make debt, and debt makes promises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dutch-proverb/promises-make-debt-and-debt-makes-promises/) [Dutch Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dutch-proverb/) > [ You can use the \[Barack\] Obama administration as a recent example. For seven years they've been unopposed. The Republican Party's not trying to stop… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/you-can-use-the-barack-obama-administration-as-a-recent-example-for/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [But credit card debt is unsecured debt, which means if you get in trouble and cannot pay off your credit card, you can discharge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/but-credit-card-debt-is-unsecured-debt-which-means-if-you-get-in/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [People internalize, from the jail to student loan debt, to credit card debt, to unemployment to the whole collective. It manifests itself in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/people-internalize-from-the-jail-to-student-loan-debt-to-credit-card/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Normally, if someone goes bankrupt, you wipe out the debt and get a fresh start. But that's not permitted with student loans. So the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/normally-if-someone-goes-bankrupt-you-wipe-out-the-debt-and-get-a/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [Student debt is crushing the lives of millions of Americans. How does it happen that we can get a home mortgage or purchase a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/student-debt-is-crushing-the-lives-of-millions-of-americans-how-does/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Student loan debt is the reason I don't advise students who want to become entrepreneurs to apply to elite, expensive colleges. They can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-wadhwa/student-loan-debt-is-the-reason-i-don-t-advise-students-who-want-to/) [Vivek Wadhwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-wadhwa/) > [The burden of student loan debt weighs heavily on both students and families across New Jersey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikie-sherrill/the-burden-of-student-loan-debt-weighs-heavily-on-both-students-and/) [Mikie Sherrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikie-sherrill/) > [Let's say you're all worried about student-loan debt and you need to have steady income. That doesn't have to be your everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-ohanian/let-s-say-you-re-all-worried-about-student-loan-debt-and-you-need-to/) [Alexis Ohanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-ohanian/) > [ What I think is bugging this guy \[Steven Lerner\] is the belief that debt - forced debt upon middle-class people, students (i.e., student loans… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/what-i-think-is-bugging-this-guy-steven-lerner-is-the-belief-that/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Student loans have been helpful to many. But they offer neither incentive nor assistance to those students who, by reason of family or other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/student-loans-have-been-helpful-to-many-but-they-offer-neither/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [The risk that people pose to wolfdogs is far greater, statistically, than the risk that wolfdogs pose to people. Many are bred in miserable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/the-risk-that-people-pose-to-wolfdogs-is-far-greater-statistically/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Pay off your student loan. Even if you don't have a job...Because when you finally get a job you're going to be one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/pay-off-your-student-loan-even-if-you-don-t-have-a-job-because-when/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) ## More by Annie Lowrey > [The bunker business is just one instantiation, the grandest instantiation, of what you might think of as conspiracy capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/the-bunker-business-is-just-one-instantiation-the-grandest/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [It is a country that professes to care for babies. But in the United States, the infant death rate is twice as high as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/it-is-a-country-that-professes-to-care-for-babies-but-in-the-united/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Where Democrats have a real toehold to criticize Republicans is that families still feel very financially fragile. About 2 in 5 adults would struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/where-democrats-have-a-real-toehold-to-criticize-republicans-is-that/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [So overall in the entire economy, the issue is not that health care costs are growing dramatically. The issue is that the burden placed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/so-overall-in-the-entire-economy-the-issue-is-not-that-health-care/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [As a general point, the United States has an extreme budget commitment to prisons, guns, warplanes, armored vehicles, detention facilities, courts, jails, drones, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/as-a-general-point-the-united-states-has-an-extreme-budget-commitment/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Conspiracy theories themselves are big business, of course, selling books, videos, conferences, and all kinds of merch. Then there is the economy that promotes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/conspiracy-theories-themselves-are-big-business-of-course-selling/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [The risk that people pose to wolfdogs is far greater, statistically, than the risk that wolfdogs pose to people. Many are bred in miserable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/the-risk-that-people-pose-to-wolfdogs-is-far-greater-statistically/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Wolves are afraid of humans, whereas dogs are not. Wolves hunt game, whereas dogs scavenge human leftovers or eat what their human companions put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/wolves-are-afraid-of-humans-whereas-dogs-are-not-wolves-hunt-game/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [The workforce is getting Uberized. The gig economy is taking over the world. Independent-contractor jobs are the new normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/the-workforce-is-getting-uberized-the-gig-economy-is-taking-over-the/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [For animals, for humans, for the planet: It makes sense to curb meat consumption, and that is something vegans and omnivores agree on. Roughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/for-animals-for-humans-for-the-planet-it-makes-sense-to-curb-meat/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [The rise of populist movements and the shrinking of the middle class - with all the economic pain and political turbulence that comes with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/the-rise-of-populist-movements-and-the-shrinking-of-the-middle-class/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Aided by the Great Society and the New Deal, the middle class grew, everywhere from Winnetka to Orlando to Humboldt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/aided-by-the-great-society-and-the-new-deal-the-middle-class-grew/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Student loans are delaying retirements. They're suppressing the housing market. They're suffocating new business formation. They're even leading young people to delay getting married…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/student-loans-are-delaying-retirements-they-re-suppressing-the/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Economic anxiety might not have won Donald Trump the White House, but much of his strongest support came from more sclerotic rural and industrial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/economic-anxiety-might-not-have-won-donald-trump-the-white-house-but/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Products marketed as being earth-friendly are often not that earth-friendly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/products-marketed-as-being-earth-friendly-are-often-not-that-earth/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) [Explore all 93 Annie Lowrey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) ## More Crisis quotes > [People in great groups have blinders on. 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