I totally agree with you Dominic. My uncle has terminal cancer and that has made me realise that there is far more to worry about than money.
I have been quite open about everything with my friends as I didn't want to carry on lying - this is my fresh start after all! Their general opinion has been 'good on you for sorting it out'.
I completely understand why some people don't want people knowing about their debt problems, but there is nothing to be ashamed of. Maybe if debt was spoken about, more people would get the help they need and wouldn't feel so desperate. As we all know, help is out there, but a lot of people don't know where to look. I only found out about an IVA after entering 'debt help' in Google. I recently read about a man who committed suicide as his debts got too much for him. He actually owed less than me. If only he'd known where to go for help, and if only there wasn't so much stigma surrounding debt.
I also feel that the banks and credit card companies need to take more responsibility. I found it so easy to get credit - yes, I should have been more resposible and said no, but why keep offering it to me? In the end I owed more than 65k, through numerous credit cards and 2 loans. I have quite a good job, but not that good!
Sorry to go on, but this is something I feel very strongly about, as you can probably tell!