Beating Debt Depression

How do you deal with it?

Ill start with some background warning probably be a bit of a rant.

So first off I have trouble associate myself with poverty. I've always been been the one to help people with money and just take more hours at work. To that extent the last 3 Rental situation I've always volunteered to pay approximately double the rent of other roommates just so we can afford the places rent is ridiculously here in Portland.

That's the life I live tho and seems like the only alternative for me would be to rent a place on my own, which I'm thinking I will be doing end of this lease as the cost will be about the same as paying a double share with roommates and it illuminates that element.

As for my big debt i tried to buy a house about 3 years ago now, and I was able to buy it but it was also a fixer and I was kinda depending on roommates to be consistent renters and that ended up back firing and I put myself in a significant amount of credit card debt in the the interim period before I worked up the willpower to sell a sinking ship.

I was able to break even on the selling so that was some luck but was left with the credit Debt which I have since consolidated into lower interest and will be paid off in 6 year...

This is where I'm stuck or what's giving me the most grief. How do you deal with being trapped by debt, I feel like I shouldn't do anything until that debt is paid off and I feel like I need to isolate myself from people to keep my empathetic nature from setting me back farther which at that point what's the point in paying off debt if your going to suffer and watch the people around you struggle and suffer as well?

What do you do to stay optimistic, or keep yourself in check? Keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed?

PS. Thx for any advice, sorry for the lack of punctuation, appolgies if I make anyone feel worse about their situations