⁍ American Bar Association asked more than a thousand early career attorneys about their law school debt.

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⁍ Attorneys said their debt gave them ‘constant anxiety and stress,’ ‘panic attacks’ and ‘massive depression

– When the American Bar Association asked more than a thousand early career attorneys about their law school debt—including its size and impact on their job choice—mental health concerns ’emerged as a pattern despite being unprompted,’ the ABA said this week. In an open-ended portion of the survey earlier this year, attorneys said their debt gave them ‘constant anxiety and stress,’ ‘panic attacks’ and ‘massive depression,’ according to an ABA Young Lawyers Division report released Monday. Respondents said their student debt—which, on average, is about $145,000, the report said—has caused them to ‘lie awake at night worried’ and to ‘hate’ their career.