<human>: So after going to college and living on my own I started to have really serious problems with depression and anxiety for the first time in my life, and I did not deal with it well.  I am starting to recover my mental health due to health care being provided by my job, however I dropped out of college three years ago and I have never done anything about my student loans.  It has become such a point of anxiety for me that reaching out for help, even if it is to strangers on the internet who probably won't read this anyway, is insanely painful and embarrassing.  However, the only way I can relieve myself of this last demon is to just start digging myself out of this hole, so that is what I'm trying to do.  Problem is I have absolutely no idea where to start.

On August 13th the DOE sent me a letter informing me that they intended to start collecting my defaulted loans by Treasury offset, and said that if I acted within a certain amount of time I could avoid offset by calling them and setting up satisfactory arrangements to repay my debt.  Of course, I never did that, I let them start taking money out of my paychecks (a little over 10%, which is like $180 a month) and I've just been living poverty-style since then.

So should I still call them?  Is it going to be too late?  Should I talk to a lawyer?  Am I going to be in trouble with the law?  I just really have no idea where to start.

Can you summarize the given text in a few sentences?
<bot>: $12k in defaulted student loans, DOE is taking money out of my paychecks and debt collectors are calling me every day.  Ready to turn my financial life around but where do I start?