Gen X Finances

I just want to kick this topic off...if comments start rolling in (even if they don't) I'll start fleshing out some thoughts on the subject.

The question on my mind is, "What are the effects that my generation are experiencing as a result of carrying 'some' to 'tons of' debt, pretty much right out of college?"

My family's health is fairly crappy-- to say nothing of the male pattern baldness on my horizon. Is the low-grade hum of debt in the background adding to my risk factors for the array of health problems that I'll be hoping to dodge my entire adult life? (That's pretty much rhetorical, since, from a holistic standpoint, the answer is most certainly "yes.")

It is my belief that we were made to be Free. When I look at the fact that "prosperity" in America costs so much, it makes me think that I need some serious help re-framing what it means to me to be free.

Perhaps Free doesn't equal "happy"...?