Yep, sunk costs are sunk costs. I have had some come my way too.
Life is not a win:lose proposition so finding yourself in this kind of debt is just another challenge - could be a housing crisis, divorce or these giant student loans.
There are; however, strategies that work better than others for increasing quality of life which generally involve treating debt as an emergency because of its impact on your ability to buy your own time back. Time is way more valuable than money once you can reach the FI point imo.
That said, once you have the debt and have a repayment strategy, if you can be grateful for health and family and the blessings you do have I say - so what. Gratitude/attitude can create a great quality of life in all sorts of circumstances.