The effects of overpowering credit card bills can spill over into all parts of life, affecting your job, your family life and even your health. In fact, if you have large credit card debts, you may feel completely overwhelmed already and circumstances may appear hopeless. Don't despair, there are many options available to help people free themselves of debt. If you're in over your head, read on for some tips to help you stop sinking and start swimming.

Get a Grip
The out-of-control mall shopper is a caricature of the imprudent credit card user. But you don't have to be reckless to amass large credit card debts. Perhaps you tapped financial resources to advance your education, or your job was unexpectedly outsourced. Maybe a long-term illness touched you or your partner, or you started a business that never quite caught on.

When individuals use credit cards, they generally think it will be a short-term safe passage. Unfortunately, life has a way of taking twists and turns, which is often how credit card debt becomes a longer-term trap.

Credit card users, therefore, must remain alert and vigilant about their spending; even very small balances can quickly and unexpectedly balloon out of control. In March of 2007, the U.S. Senate looked into the practices of credit card companies, including the perceived lack of disclosure, universal default practices (in which a consumer can be severely penalized by one credit card account for being late on a separate account), and the interest charged on the entire credit card balance, even when customers have made timely payments. In response to the Congressional inquiry, large credit card companies voluntarily changed some practices. Despite this, now more than ever, it's "borrower beware" when it comes to credit card use. (To learn more about credit cards, read Understanding Credit Card Interest.) 

Get the Lay of the Land
If credit card balances and their corresponding payments have made your financial life unsustainable, you might consider taking some of these steps: