Cleveland Clinic describes an emotional (mental) breakdown as “the feeling of being physically, mentally and emotionally overwhelmed by the stress of life”. In my opinion, saying “I had an emotional breakdown” just doesn’t have the right ring to it. I much prefer calling it a “Menty B”.

Flashback to Summer 2024 – I was still living alone in the city at this time. I finally admitted to myself that I no longer felt fulfilled in my current relationship (more on this at a later date), and made the decision to break up with my ex. I wasn’t overly sad about this, if I’m being honest. They say that girls take such a long time just thinking about breaking up with their partner that, when the time comes, they don’t react as strongly as one may expect. There really isn’t much of a reaction you can have when you’ve already come to terms with the loss of the relationship, especially when it only lasted a mere eight months.

Around this same time, a childhood friend of mine was getting married and I was in her bridal party. Her wedding was amazing, and I was over the moon happy for her and her husband, but being there made me long for the time that it would be my turn. I was newly single and lonely, it’s no surprise I didn’t make it home that night. Of course, after the slightly concerning amount of vodka I consumed, I found myself to stumbling into the bed of an old high school friend. But can you blame me?! I was drunk and just spent the entire night surrounded by love at a wedding. Plus, nothing bad could happen, right? Wrong.

I ended up hanging out with him numerous times after that, and we talked everyday for almost a month. I must admit, I was slowly starting to get attached and develop feelings for this guy. Even though I was recently out of a relationship, I had been so emotionally checked out for months before we broke up that it felt like forever ago.

Everything between us seemed to be going good until one day, all of a sudden, he ended things. He told me that we were “too different of people”, that I was “too much” for him, blah blah blah. Hell, I should have ran for the hills right here. But of course, I let it get the best of me, and it was at this point that I had my little Menty B.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was when my ex-situationship’s best friend referred to me like I was a dog, saying he [my situationship] only liked the chase. I was also told, “he’s a guy, he only wants to fuck, what else did you expect?” Not only was I absolutely disgusted by those words, I felt embarrassed, disrespected, and used.

Side note: Ladies – we are not animals. If a man wants to chase after something, get him to go after the dog that has escaped from your neighbour’s backyard (and if they don’t have a dog, he doesn’t need to know that).

Anyways, back to my story. Said Menty B caused me to question absolutely everything I had done with my life up until that point. On top of my relationship struggles, I was unhappy in my current employment setting. I was anxious every single time that I had to go into work, barely getting any rest before a 12 hour shift. What was going on in my personal life began to affect my performance at work, and I felt like I could not do my job to the best of my abilities. I became overwhelmed with emotions, and dealing with it all became too much. Before I knew it, I was off on stress leave.

I knew that I needed a change, I just didn’t know what. I was ready to break my lease, quit my job, and move back to my hometown. Thankfully, my personal therapist (my cousin) encouraged me not to make any drastic decisions given the emotional state I was in. Even more thankfully, I listened.

During my stress leave, I decided to temporarily move back home so I could be closer to my family. I also used this time as a trial period, to see if I could even picture myself living in my hometown again. Emotions were running high at this point – a lot of tears were shed and a lot of therapy sessions were had. By the time my stress leave was up, I had made up my mind; I was going to move back home.

It has now been five months since my Menty B, and three months since I moved back in with my parents. The change in both pace and environment has done wonders for my mental health, and I’m the happiest I’ve been in almost a year. I love my new job, and for the first time in a long time I don’t dread having to go to work each day. I’m not sure how long I’m planning to stay here for, but that’s kind of the exciting part about it. I have absolutely nothing (and no one) tying me down.

– k.

Getting through difficult times in your 20’s is hard enough when you have a strong support system around you; my heart goes out to those who feel they are in it alone. Know you can always reach out to talk and share your story. Even when we think no one can possibly know what we’re going through, there is a good chance someone has experienced something similar ❤