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The biggest thing is identifying the source of debt. Second thing is to ensure all your money is not going to repayment. Keep some aside for investment/savings. If you can manage both over time, you will be in a better place. Been there and once you cross the hill that anxiety really drops.
Be very careful. I am saying this because you said you are dealing with a life time of indebtedness. There are many reasons sometimes out of our control - but I want to say something that is not often said.
I helped my parents with the debt clearance and it did not help. My father just made newer and bigger ones. My mother refused to intervene to keep the peace.
I paid off a crore in debt and helped with the house repairs, car etc. Dad kept throwing money into a fire with a business project that did not take off.
So ask some deeper questions - is this a rope tied to a sinking ship? You may really want to confront that reality. I did not and suffer for it in lost opportunities etc.
If people who are supposed to make responsible decisions are not doing it - please ask tough questions. Because we are ingrained to help our parents out of a tight spot.
But demand responsible behaviour, otherwise you just become a new revenue stream for them with extra gratitude steps and they think they have a longer rope with irresponsible finances.
You will notice people, especially men in their last chance saloon moments take crazy financial decisions. Be aware of this phenomenon.
If you need to deal with your guilt of cutting the rope, get your parents on a good health insurance plan funded by you - just cover it.
You got their back health-wise, but if the money just keeps going missing - you need to put down terms of financial responsibility as they get older.
You can also say you will only put money in a joint account with them - where transactions need your approval. They get the financial security but you need to monitor things.
From my experience - its do-able if the sum is a few crores from a job in T1 - but think beyond just debt repayment too. You have your life too.
It will get better. Don't fret too much.
Took me a few years of slogging and living like a litigation chamber junior while making T1 pay to really pull myself back from red to a green figure which would be respectable with incoming bonus (nowhere comparable to what it would be without the debts, but I can’t lose sleep over that).
Ofcourse, its not comparable to larger and more crippling debt like house loans or failed family business debt. But in my experience all it takes is slipping into a figurative coma for a few years to ensure doing nothing but the right thing in servicing the debt.
The sense of freedom you get on the other side, its like a new lease of life honestly.