Debt literally drove me to have a mental breakdown a few years back and we ended up going bankrupt. I wrote a blog about it the other day if you fancy a read... https://steemit.com/life/@beautifulbullies/bankruptcy-my-top-tips-for-recovery-and-staying-debt-free
Debt collectors are so scary and they really don't follow the rules at all. I was diagnosed with depression and they were informed that we had filed for bankruptcy, but still they continued to harass me for money. I had to eventually threaten them with the police. Up to 2 years afterwards, we still received letters from new debt collectors after the old ones had fraudulently sold them our debt (that had been written off by the courts).
I would love to say that I got into debt by being outrageous with money and had a fabulous time, alas it was not the case. It was credit cards and interest upon interest that caused the issue.
We managed to come out the other side and only have 1 more year with the bankruptcy on our financial history, but I will never rely on credit cards to pay bills ever again! They are a dangerous trap, designed to get you into more debt as you say, to earn the lenders more money.