Analogy: a swimmer is caught in a rip; a term describing a tidal phenomena where a strong current (that runs out to sea in a channel) drags you out to sea if you get caught in it. The rip represents any debt trap in this case and they both work in a similar way pulling you into deeper trouble.
A good article. I enjoyed the analogy...
But not as much as I enjoyed this video which makes the same point regarding the economic crisis: