my boyfriend (26M) and I (25F) were together for a over 4 years and a week ago he broke up with me out of nowhere. without too much detail, my boyfriend has always been just ‘okay’. selfishly I always knew something was wrong with him deep down. he did too. it’s just that neither of us really talked about it, nor did I ever really fully understand that he needed help, until it broke us.
last week, he ended things. It wasn’t dramatic, it was all love. he cried to me for hours, he didn’t want me to leave the car because he was scared of what would happen next and I was heartbroken. he said he couldn’t feel anything, that he loved me so much, but didn’t fully feel love or know how to express it, not just with me but with everyone in his life. his baby nephews, parents, friends and family, he knows that he loves them but mentally he can’t do anything with that love, he’s completely numb. he believes I deserve to be loved the way I can love him, and that he’ll never be able to be with someone because there’s something internally wrong with him but he doesn’t know what. he said that the day he dies, whenever that may be, his biggest regret and his last thought would be how he was never able to love me the way I loved him. and that he’ll always carry with him how much he hurt me. and god I loved him endlessly. for exactly who he is. his love was always enough for me. but I agreed, I DO deserve more. I deserve to be looked at with soft eyes, be hyped up about my accomplishments and treated like I’m his person. which I always felt like I was in his way, because deep down I knew that was all he was able to give, but we were also each other’s first real love and didn’t know any different.
we were like drugs to each other. the relationship was perfect in our eyes. communication, affection, same goals and morals, love for each other, laughter, calm, passion, all of it. we had normal disagreements, but nothing toxic, no dramatic breakups, nothing unstable. everyone around us thought we were meant to be, even before we did, they always knew we’d end up together, like it was inevitable. but he carried a darkness, a numbness, for years. his ADD made him hyperfixate and then feel like a failure, and he coped by distracting himself instead of acknowledging anything emotional. he always told himself he was broken, and that if he didn’t succeed at something, his life was pointless.
we went a full week no contact. for me, it has been the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with. I wished he was hurting as much as I was. I lost everything, him, his family, his friends. I didn’t have friends of my own, he never met my family (for personal reasons of mine), so it felt like he lost nothing and I lost everything. I teach big group fitness classes and had to show up every day like nothing was wrong. It feels like drowning with no one to talk to. he told his family and friends right away because he needed support. I haven’t told a single person yet, I’m carrying the weight on my own. and I know that I never will seek help from someone. and here I am still, holding space for 30+ people every day, and not a single person holding space for me.
fast forward to last night, we had soccer (we’re on the same team). I tried not to go, but I needed to see that he was real. that who I’m grieving still exists. It was okay, a smile, a quick “how have you been,” a high five when I scored. I was prepared for that part. It was post-game that broke me. I got into my car and had a full panic attack. sobbed uncontrollably, I couldn’t breathe, I thought I was dying, maybe part of me wanted to just so I could not feel something for a moment. I called him without thinking.
he answered immediately and urged me to come to his car. he held me while I cried. we ended up in the parking lot for 6 hours. 9pm to 3am.
he didn’t cry. he said he’s not okay, but he’s numb, and he just feels like now he had a missing piece in his life. that the only person who will feel real pain in all this is me. but the conversation we had completely changed everything. he said that listening to me, hearing my honesty, seeing my pain, finally made him realize he’s depressed. he said he’s been denying it for years. that if I hadn’t come to his car, he would’ve kept pretending he was fine and sinking deeper. he said he knows he loves me but can’t feel it, and right now he just feels emptiness. I kept apologizing, over and over that I’m sorry for coming into the car and I know I shouldn’t have and tried everything not to. he said if I hadn’t come to the car, he would’ve kept pretending he was fine and kept sinking deeper in the numbness that he was feeling and just continue thinking he was broken and would never be able to love someone, anyone, not just in a relationship. so it kind of brought me peace.
I said everything I needed to say. I told him I can’t cling to hope, that I need to heal too. I told him I wouldn’t get back together right now even if he asked. I told him he needs real help, not more hobbies or distractions. I told him that ultimately what I think is he needs to see a doctor. he needs to be diagnosed with depression and get help. we talked about where I was a year ago, I was diagnosed with severe anxiety and battled it for my whole life in denial. he helped me come to the realization, get help and take medication. and my life did a 360, he was right there to witness it. i changed for the better, and i’ve never felt more alive. after a long talk about his mental health, he said it. he said he’s going to call his doctor and talk about antidepressants.
he said he wants to come back to me if he can feel again. that he isn’t deleting our pictures on social media. that he can’t give me my stuff back yet. that neither of us could handle being with or touching someone else, we’ve known that since the beginning. so if that happens, we’re both done. and there’s no coming back from that for us.
he said he doesn’t want me sitting on a “ticking clock,” and that he doesn’t want to accidentally hurt me again if things don’t go the way either of us hope. and now I feel stuck in limbo. supporting someone who can’t feel anything while I feel everything. I want him to get better for himself more than anything in the world. I’m trying to process the grief of losing him while also trying to understand this new uncertain space we’re in. but I also feel like I’ve already made up my mind, I choose him, even over myself. I’m already heartbroken, so what’s another 3 months waiting for him to heal and coming back to me. even if there’s a high potential for him to just break my heart again. but life feels too short to not fight for the person I love who also loves me back but is mentally hurting.
I’m looking for insight from anyone who has gone through something similar,breakups caused by emotional numbness, depression, ADD burnout, or relationships that paused while someone worked on their mental health. what helped you cope? what did healing look like for either person? how did you manage the uncertainty and the waiting? and most importantly, what happened in the end?
any experiences or perspective would mean so much.