Which year destroyed your mental health the most?

This one

Easily 1984. That was the year my Dad died. It was a heart attack. He was 49, I was 19. I was an away working my summer job when it happened. I was a day late to see him in the hospital. My mother, brother, and sister had to make the decision to remove him from life support without me. I was due back at college two weeks later and Mom insisted that I go. I spent the remainder of that year grieving alone. I’ve had a really hard time feeling true joy ever since, and that was 42 years ago.

Probably 2020. A lot changed at once, and it took a while to get back on my feet mentally.

2013 when I lost my son.

Each one’s a new, fresh hell 

2020-2026.

2021-2023

2020 felt like the world collectively went into a dark room and forgot where the light switch was located. I spent nearly a year staring at the same four walls until I reached a point where I couldn't remember who I was without the noise of the outside world to define me.

2025 up until now has been pretty rough and I’m not feeling great about the rest of it.

2024. Wife died, country died, Willie Mays died.

This year isn't going well - lots of great things but... post partum is like nothing else

[deleted]

2002–2007: I was diagnosed with aggressive, advanced stage 3A colon cancer. 2025: My youngest daughter attempted to take her own life. She has gone through two SA trials at the Superior Court of Justice. During all of this, I was also served with harassment and intimidation papers, and had to admit my daughter into a mental health facility, and our nine year old son started having seizures. What a fucked up year.

2024. My partner and mother of our children died.

2025. Full stop. And I’ve been through a lot, but 2025 nearly broke me.

1986. I was 23. I had just been humiliatingly fired from a job. I was unemployed for 8 months and living in my parents' basement. I was severely depressed (double depression). I didn't know anything about antidepressants. My immigrant parents didn't know what advice to give me. The worst f****ing year of my life.

these last 12 months lmao

2016: brexit and trump I – the year the evil clowns took over

Second half of 2025-now

1989 - 2005. I was married.

2016 was a rough one. Brexit, the beginning of 24/7 Trump coverage. Climate Crisis was in a dire state. Tons of celebrity deaths. The Suicide Squad movie happened. I'd graduated uni that year, which meant on a personal level I said goodbye to a lifestyle I enjoyed, and spent less time around friends I loved. I tried to go long-distance with my then girlfriend but it didn't work out for either of us.

1974 when I became eligible for the Vietnam draft.

The year i was born?

2020 without a doubt.

2020. COVID, leukemia, Trump is president, and my health being in the shitter

Each year brings its own flavor, and a new brick to the gigantic wall we will all eventually get behind of. Each second actually.

2022 almost didn’t finish that year

Let’s put this in perspective. 2019 was so bad that I felt 2020 was relaxing by comparison.

2020

2018-2020-2023-2024 that devatating years

Either 2020, 2021, or 2025

2021

2025.

I thought last year but this year's giving it a run for its money already

2025

2022. I broke up with my girlfriend and then lost my job in the span of a week. No matter how hard I tried, nobody would hire me. Weeks turned to months. And as my unemployment checks started running low, I became very discouraged and depressed. I started drinking a lot and even contemplated self deletion. It was really hard, but I was accepted into a hiring program and I got a settlement from my old job for wrongful termination. (9 months later 😣)

2020 - I had a newborn, COVID, a toxic work environment. Chronic pain started one year later and I'm still dealing with healing all the damage.

2020… enough said

Last year. My dream job turned into a nightmare. Got dropped and no closure. Felt everything was falling and realised my neurodivergence made it more difficult. Got a really low place. Still struggling, but getting there.

2021 honestly. And this one

2021 2020 was actually a great year for me, but the next year had a lot of issues.

2021. Going back to a full 40-hour, in-person schedule felt soul crushing. I had only been back about a month before I got COVID, and by then all the special sick time was gone—so I had to burn through my own leave, which just made me feel even more trapped at work for the rest of the year. During the pandemic, I worked from home and could actually flex my hours. I could step away for a walk or a bike ride, take breaks when I needed them, and just function like a human being instead of a machine. I really thought that experience would permanently change how we work. It didn’t.

2021. Pandemic. Related to my career

2021 my boyfriend died in a crash and I found him

Each year of the past ten has done a number on me 🤷‍♀️

2020 almost killed me.

2021.

2020. My brother died and I had to tell my parents. It deeply affected me and still does.

Last year. Laid off, health issues, dealing with intense agoraphobia and newly diagnosed OCD. It’s been absolute hell.

There was a lot of years but 2024-2025 I got layed off from my job I used to make a killing at, had to move back into my parents house and I was dirt f****** poor. In exchange for being there I did construction work for them and took care of my dad after his surgery, but I also couldn't afford food and my parent's are older and have really bad food handling skills (and are REALLY stubborn about it). I was eating the smallest amount, throwing up all the time because the food was bad (the food I would buy would go bad in the broken fridge), and I was doing hard labor everyday (running gravel up and down the stairs (2 flights), mixing concrete, laying concrete and hosing, roofing (10/12 roof 3 stories high) plumbing, carpentry) all the while my siblings would come by and harass me that I'm not doing enough for mom and dad and that I am not making good life decisions. Since I was doing all this hard labor, I also wasn't making any money to get out since all my time was spent doing their house projects and I had a work from home job that no one in my family considered an actual job since I was home, so I stayed longer than I wanted. I lost 30 lbs in a year and ended at 89lbs before I finally moved out. I'm not a man by the way, and I have no experience in any of this prior to doing this for my parents. I also have life threatening allergies to dogs and I was working in a dog dust infested home. I had never been more sick in my life and I'm surprised I survived, not just physically but mentally, too.

2026

2026…covid was easier then this shit

2020 to current….it’s on going

2020

2001 and 2020-present.

In 2020, I got Covid, which turned into Long Covid. I needed an inhaler and couldn't walk up my driveway without a break. SIX YEARS later, I still have a ragged night cough and a chronic dry throat. F*** 2020.

2025

Covid years

2025, wish I could wipe it off completely

I’m genuinely worried that 2026 might break me. The only reason I’m still here is my two little girls.

the year I was born it's been downhill ever since

2025

Last year, genuinely horrific in so many ways.

2020-2022. Followed close by 2025 and this year. The last 6 years have been shit to be honest.

2025. The amount of lies, gaslighting, under reported news, or ambivalence to dozens of news stories that would be year long reported political career enders get 3 days in the news broke me

2020

2025 for sure it broke me in ways I couldn’t even imagine. Trump literally ruined my life.

Last year. Partner of 32 years cheated on me, dumped me, and moved away leaving no forwarding address. I am not ok

2025. My dad died a month after his 68th birthday from acute alcohol intoxication, after I had spent the previous 8 weeks desperately trying to turn it around and get him into treatment. I have never felt stress and heartache like it before and I hope I don’t again for a long time. My nervous system has still not recovered and it’s been 10 months.

2005, I lost my 22 year old son in a car accident

This one, the year my husband died

2024. My trust in people has been utterly shattered.

Personally 2022 In regards to a general will to live or to have some kind of positive outlook on the Future this Year

Every year since 2016 has gotten worse and worse

Each year since Covid first dropped has increased in suffering and reduced enjoyment.

2006 when I lost my kid But this one is really really coming close. Being so Sad 20 years later again, really sucks.

2021. Just as vaccinations were being distributed, it was time to get life going again, my ex wife decides to leave me. Finding the fortitude to keep going nearly broke me mentally. I'm through the other side now, but my heart is hardened.

2007: bullying in school 2019: break-up after 3.5 years 2020: locked up in house cause of Covid. 2023, 2024, 2025: feeling of worthlessness because of being jobless despite having a master’s degree I think I have been depressed for the last 6-7 years, but haven’t got a diagnosis.

2023 by far. we were approaching the presidential elections in turkey, fearing we would be stuck with erdogan for another term, arguing with his supporters online and irl 24/7. then the massive earthquakes hit the city I grew up in among many others. many friends lost their homes and families. so many people had to start from scratch it was really heartbreaking. but we said hey at least this puts the nail in erdogan's coffin, no way he comes back from this. he did and won again. all those months of us foaming at the mouth trying to warn people about all sorts of bullshit that ended up happening one by one were in vain. add some personal problems and whatnot on top of that and yeah I disconnected from life quite a bit after that year. that fundamental feeling of being alive has never returned.

2016 was a huge test. Lost our family dog, a lot of beloved celebrities, I realized that millions of people will vote for an immature moronic psychopath over a competent adult... It was just a lot to deal with in a year.

2016. The year Trump was elected.

2

1994, apparently. I was asked to write a year-by-year biography for a creative writing exercise, and it turns out that was the year that my friends started really inflicting psychic damage on me, and I've been putting up defensive walls ever since

2023 into spring 2025.

Probably the first few years of many people's lives (1-3 years old), which sets up lifelong mental health problems.

2022-present

2012 and 2016

1971 - present

The Covid era

2020, easily. And not because the world shutdown. My wife and I were trying for a long time to have a baby. She finally got pregnant. But 19 weeks later, the worst news happened: She miscarried. Her doctor told us she had a 1 percent chance of a miscarriage at that stage of the pregnancy. The world shutdown. But mine collapsed. They told us that when our daughter was out, she'd only have 5 minutes. She lasted 18. Then after all that, the world shutdown like 2 days after all that. It was very hard for both of us, but more for her obviously. Then the following year, our other daughter was born. And we found out just the other day that she has autism. But we love both of our kids no matter what :)

The ones where my ex was cheating on me and begged me to take her back because the new guy was physically and emotionally abusing her. So like 2022-2023

2012-2013 I guess.

2017. My father died in 2016 and the year after it hit me emotionally.

So far!

2000 my dad died, sounds mad but not been the same since.

2025. After an exemplary 5 years of service with many accolades, I was “business decisioned” out. New manager was a complete d***. Not business, 100% personality conflict.

2026

Tough to say but it's one of 2017, 2020, or 2025. 2020 for obvious reasons, 2017 because I went through a terrible breakup that left irreparable damage to my psyche, and 2025 because it felt like the start of everything going to shit.

2022. The year started off badly. I wish I were making this up, but the first week of January, my Pa lost his battle with cancer, any my wife landed in the hospital. She ended up staying in the hospital for 11 months. I didn’t know it at the time, but that ended up completely breaking me. We are now divorced and I am what you might call intensely burned out. I couldn’t handle that much trauma at the same time. Now I’m biding my time and building skills to homestead and just kind of drop out. I’d rather be up on a mountain tending my plants naked all day, enjoying the fruits of my labor and becoming one with the land. Making my own schedule. My own rules. Sitting to watch the sunset, or watching it from my outdoor rain shower. Man that sounds so refreshing right now.

2020. My husband was going through a depression/midlife crisis and Covid hit owners changed at my current job and I was working more hours than I had ever worked before and not getting paid my worth. I’ve done a lot of emotional growth sense.

I don't even remember 2013/14. Apparently I went to South America at one point, there are pictures of me, but I don't remember it at all. I was on ssris at the time but I don't think they're wholly responsible, I think I was just so depressed my brain just stopped recording because I was too miserable to function. All I remember is the intense sensation of self-hatred.

2006 when I lived on my own for the first time and had 40 dollars to my name with payday being 2 weeks away

End of 2008 and the entirety of 2009. The financial crisis really fucked me up

2021 without a doubt. 2025 was a pretty bad one as well however I’ve came out a lot stronger and so far 2026 has been a very decent year. Definitely the best one post covid.

2020, I was 24 and finally started to feel confident about my physical health (congenital heart defect) living in a small town in the middle of nowhere. All of a sudden I was convinced by friends, family and the media that I was going to die from COVID-19. I began not caring about my image or health and started making some very poor decisions that I’m still facing the consequences of today. I caught COVID-19 four different times, absolutely nothing happened other than a little fatigue. 

1983. That was my year of greatest change, challenges, and uncertainties.

2024 was pretty bad, my long term girlfriend broke up with me right when we were moving in together to start our life. I've been pretty nihilistic and depressed ever since.

2024. But also 2025.

2015, watched my mom die

2024. Work related.

in 2015 I went to 7 funerals in less than 6 months and then dropped out of school. was struggling with anxiety and drug/alcohol abuse. I'm doing much better now but it has been a really long road recovering from all that.

2006. First year out of highschool, life came at me too fast.

2025. Worst year of my life. Started a terrible job in Feb 2025 and started to regret taking it a couple months in. Stuck around until July and I finally lost it.. and quit. Suddenly, but gracefully. Took the rest of 2025 off to regain control of my mental health. Began a job search on January 1st 2026 and everything fell back into place in mid-March 2026.

2020. I ran out of sympathy and it's never come back. 2025 and since has been just as bad. I just can't forgive willful ignorance.

2020-2024, My last serious relationship.

2023

1999. Worst year of my life. After that it’s been steadily climbing

Last year or this one.

2010. First suicide attempt, drug abuse, ex left, lost 2 jobs that year, was about to get kicked out of my apartment.

2015. I moved away from my abusive household I lived with my best friend in my dream city with a great job & beautiful house. I had nothing to be sad about... And I was still horribly depressed. I tried all the medications and all the therapy and nothing helped. I had to face the fact that I could live in a perfect world and my brain would still refuse to be happy.

GEE, I WONDER

2015 our son/brother passed away.

Started in 2020-2021. Greatly exacerbated in 2023 following a traumatic loss. Haven't been the same since.

2014

I think you mean so far?

2014 then 2024-2025.

2015. My abusive husband teamed up with my toxic mother and they kidnapped my child together. I got my child back after they had been gone for 2 months. But I never got the full story of why it happened in the first place. The most i got was that my abusive husband told my mother lies and false stories about how I was being a bad mother to our child. But I still have not been able to talk to my mother about it. I just want to know why she did it. She refuses to speak to me about it (so I am fully NC, of course). I still have nightmares about the kidnapping incident though. I was told that I was never going to see my child ever again. It was the most isolating and scary part of my entire life so far. It broke me.

2023 - the war started. 2024 - my grandma died, my beloved cat died, my father went batshit bananapants and I disowned him. Started drinking again that year. 2025-2026 - oh, just the world going to hell in a handbasket. Han an anxiety attack in my sleep today... what could go wrong?

2015: I got married and my best man/best friend of 25 years died the night before the wedding. Lost most of my friends due to fallout from his passing and how people treated his Mom. My parents also divorced this year. 2020: Just moved to a new town in late 2019 then pandemic hit. Isolation, fear and my wife having OCD made it a lot harder. Mainly because I lacked understanding and was not able to offer the kindness and patience that she deserved.

Right now. Both parents failing medically and got laid off in January.

2023. Where there are so many events in my life that is like scientifically unreal.

2023. Never knew heartbreak or betrayal. Wife of many years cheated on me and became a stone cold b**** for a while. I was always very confident in everything. Took on any new life challenges without fear, knowing she was by my side. Couples therapy was really great, but she ended up leaving a year later. These days I'm a lot more anxious and likely to spiral from the smallest things. Trust feels nearly impossible in my relationships. I struggle to care at work. Luckily my suicide attempt was interrupted, and I am happy to be alive. I love my girlfriend and I'm starting to make friends finally and have realized the toxic things from my marriage that held me back in other ways. But I would kill to have the confidence I used to have and the ability to just roll with the punches like I always did.. I was f****** awesome.

1998 followed by 2013

2022 - 2024 Laid off after over a decade. Lost access to insurance which also means access to the mental health meds. It was horrible. Not only was the job market crappy I couldn't even accomplish the task I needed to find a job. Was unemployed for almost two years. Drained me of all savings/retirement. Found a job literally a month away from having zero money and most likely getting kicked out of my apartment. And it's a horrible job. But the market still isn't that great and it's pretty low stress. It's not great for my career but I'm just tired of it all.

2015

2023 when my Post COVID came back and did not vanish since.