债务通缩周期始于不断加剧的过度繁荣、过度借贷和不断加码的投机性交易，也就是失衡，之后是泡沫破灭，而过剩产能和债务的顺周期特点导致流动性紧缩、物价通缩、失业及经济停滞、甚至是深度萧条。
The debt-deflation cycle begins with an imbalance or displacement, which fuels excessive exuberance, over-borrowing, and speculative trading, and ends in bust, with procyclical liquidation of excess capacity and debt causing price deflation, unemployment, and economic stagnation. The result can be a deep depression.