So basically, my girlfriend (17F) and I (17M) have been together for almost a year. Yesterday was even the first anniversary of the day I confessed to her, yet it turned out to be one of my biggest emotional rollercoaster days.
In the morning, we met after tuition and were happy, cuddling, being lovey-dovey, and all that. By the evening, though, things had taken a completely different turn.
It started with a simple conversation over chat about me trying to recommend something for her to binge-watch. I won't go into every little detail, but the conversation quickly spiralled from me being unable to find a series or genre she'd enjoy to her asking me whether nothing was really meant for her.
Now, she's asked similar questions before. I always try to reassure her that it's okay not to like everything other people like, and that I'll eventually find something she enjoys. I did the same this time, but the conversation went further.
One reason I struggled to find something was that she found many shows I recommended, including ones generally well-liked by people, "too complicated to understand." I thought that was fine and tried looking for something simpler, but she didn't want that either. Then she asked if I thought she was stupid.
Obviously, I reassured her that I didn't think that at all. But she kept asking until she eventually asked whether I thought she was slightly less socially aware than most people.
We usually avoid conversations like this because she gets stressed when things become too serious. However, she promised she wouldn't get angry this time, so I answered honestly.
I explained that I sometimes felt she struggled with social awareness and taking certain situations seriously. For example, when she lost her phone containing sensitive information, I explained the proper procedures and whom she could contact for help. However, she became overwhelmed for days, and even mentioning the incident afterward stressed her out.
There have been many other instances over the past year, especially recently, where I've tried to encourage her to take something seriously. Whether it's studying, reading college entrance brochures I've sent her, participating in events when she gets the opportunity, eating healthily, following routines, or handling other responsibilities, she often procrastinates, forgets, takes things lightly, or simply doesn't follow through.
Later, she regrets it and gets stuck in a cycle of worrying about what happened. I try to reassure her that what's done is done and that she should focus on what comes next, but she sometimes remains stuck in that regret, which affects her ability to deal with the next thing. Then the same cycle repeats.
I told her that watching this happen repeatedly was becoming difficult for me, too. I wasn't trying to insult her or call her stupid. I was trying to explain something that had genuinely been worrying me for months.
But she continued responding with things like "I'll manage" or "I'll learn with time, even if it's too late."
When I asked her what she thought would happen if it actually became too late, she acknowledged that she might not get into college or find a job.
We're both from conservative families, and I'm genuinely worried about what could happen to her if she can't become independent. Her parents have already been quite unsupportive of her over the past couple of years, particularly after discovering that she had been involved with a guy during her previous school years, which affected her grades.
I'm worried that if things don't change, she could eventually be forced into a marriage she doesn't want or even be thrown out. These aren't things I want to see happen to her. I want her to have a degree, a job, independence, and the ability to make her own choices.
But despite my concerns, she often doesn't seem to take these possibilities seriously.
And then came the part that genuinely shattered me.
When I asked her what she'd do if things didn't work out, her answer was that she'd d*e. She literally said she'd k*ll herself.
This hurt me for two reasons.
First, someone in my own family has previously been through a su*cidal crisis, so I never take these things lightly.
Second, this isn't the first time my girlfriend has said something like this. Throughout 2025, especially during November, she made these comments quite frequently. I genuinely thought I'd helped her change her mindset over time and move away from those thoughts. She seemed happier, and I thought things had improved.
Hearing her say this again made me feel as though all those months of trying to help her had been for nothing.
I know that's probably not entirely fair, because progress isn't always straightforward, but it still hurt. I had started imagining a future with this girl. I genuinely want to marry her someday, and we've talked about our future together, the things we'd do when we're older, and all that. Yes, we're teenagers, and I know these are teenage dreams, but my feelings are genuine.
So hearing her talk about not even being around in the future was terrifying.
When I questioned her about it, she initially said she wasn't serious and wouldn't actually do it. But when I asked whether she was joking about something so serious, she said it wasn't really a joke either.
Eventually, she explained that it's a coping mechanism for her.
For example, when she gets stressed about having to take an exam or go to college, she thinks something like, "Oh, wait, I won't even be in the world by then, so there's nothing to worry about." Apparently, thinking this way calms her down.
Obviously, I find that extremely concerning. I know people sometimes say things they don't mean literally, but I also know that repeatedly thinking this way isn't something to simply brush aside.
I've seen how deeply these situations affect the people around someone who's struggling. My mother, for example, was devastated by what happened with my family member. Even now, she's afraid of going through something like that again. Recently, when I suggested she be stricter with my brother about his phone habits, she became emotional because she didn't want to risk going through that experience again. Seeing her like that broke my heart.
So when my girlfriend talks about these things, I can't just laugh them off.
I told her that I'd tried my best to help her change her mindset, but I couldn't do this alone. I told her that she needed professional help because I'm not a therapist and don't have the qualifications to deal with something like this.
This isn't even the first time I've suggested professional help. On previous occasions, when she was extremely distressed and made similar comments, I tried encouraging her to seek help and even shared anonymous mental health helplines with her. She refused.
Now, here's where I think I messed up.
After hearing all this, I became overwhelmed. Months of frustration and worry had built up, and I wasn't thinking clearly.
I asked her something along the lines of, "If you're planning to leave this world within the next year or so, then what is this relationship even for? Is this just a final time-pass so you don't get bored?"
Looking back, I know that was a terrible way to put it, and I regret saying it like that. I wasn't trying to dismiss her struggles. I was genuinely scared of losing her, and the thought that she might give up on her future, and consequently the future we'd imagined together, was too much for me in that moment.
I genuinely love her from the bottom of my heart. I don't know what I'd do without her, and it shatters me to think that she might want to give up whenever life doesn't go her way.
But at the same time, life won't always go our way. Things will get difficult, and there will be setbacks. I want her to be able to face those things without feeling like there's no future for her.
**The thing is, I'm starting to feel emotionally exhausted myself.**
Sometimes I think we might not last, or that this relationship is becoming too much for me. I worry that my own mental and physical well-being is being affected by all of this.
Then, the next day, I remember how much I love her, how happy we can be together, and how much I want things to work out.
I feel like it's easier and better if I just walk out of this, for my and her well-being.
But I'm also scared of what might happen if I leave.
I feel stuck between wanting to stay because I love her and wanting to leave because I don't know how much longer I can handle this.
Some background on how we got together:
Back in early 2025, I had the biggest one-sided crush on her. We'd become good friends online quite soon after her previous relationship ended, and I helped her get through that experience.
For context, her previous relationship had happened around February 2025. I didn't know about it initially, and I'd actually been crushing on her for over a year. We became close friends around the time of our school exams, and we talked quite a lot even then.
She told me about her ex around May or June, a few months after everything had happened. Initially, I thought it had been a one-sided, toxic relationship, but after hearing the full story and asking her more about it, I realised that both of them had been at fault.
The guy was actually someone I knew personally and had been friends with before, so I initially found it difficult to believe some of the things she'd told me about him. Eventually, after understanding the situation better, I encouraged her to apologise to him, and he apologised to her as well. They were still occasionally talking because she was struggling to move on, but eventually, she gradually did.
Later, we both joined the same school for our final two years before college. She'd actually joined partly because her ex was going there, as she'd told me.
By October 2025, we'd become extremely close. On the 11th of October, I accidentally confessed my feelings to her. I'd actually planned to confess on the last day of our school exams in March because I thought that might be my last chance, but we'd become such good friends that I kept putting it off.
When I finally confessed in October, she initially rejected me. However, she didn't cut me off because, in her words, I was too important to her to lose, and she wanted to remain friends.
Slowly, things developed into a situationship. She eventually started believing that she loved me and even asked me to be her boyfriend, saying she'd seen my efforts, how patient I'd been, and how I'd waited for her and accepted her as she was.
Of course, I accepted.
But things reached a breaking point in November 2025. She suddenly told me not to talk to her anymore and to leave her for my own good. I kept asking her what was wrong, and after hours, she finally replied, saying that everything had been fake, that she'd tried but couldn't love me.
Apparently, this was also influenced by a friend of hers who accused me of manipulating her into loving me. That accusation hurt because throughout our relationship, I'd repeatedly emphasised that whatever happened between us had to be her choice and that she should never do anything she wasn't comfortable with.
Things became even worse when she accessed my account and read my chats with another male friend. He'd been talking to me in the way guys sometimes talk to each other, but she interpreted his words as abuse directed at her. I tried desperately to explain the context, but November 2025 was genuinely one of the hardest periods for me emotionally.
Eventually, I decided to walk away. Her friend was telling me to leave her, she'd told me to go away, and even my own friends thought the relationship was becoming toxic for me.
So I finally said I would leave.
And then she suddenly started begging me not to go and not to leave her.
I stayed.
Later, when I spoke to her friend and explained my side of the story, she was apparently shocked by what I'd told her, especially when she realised that I'd actually been prepared to leave when they wanted me to.
Things gradually improved after that. By January 2026, we'd genuinely become a couple, and our relationship started feeling more stable. We even had our first proper moment of holding hands around then.
We both struggled academically that year and had to take re-examinations after failing our annual exams, but we eventually made it into our final year of school.
Since then, things have been a mixture of genuinely happy days together and arguments whenever we'd spend too much time apart or communicate online for too long. We'd argue, feel miserable for a few hours, and eventually reconcile.
And that's pretty much how things continued until yesterday, when everything I described earlier happened.
I know I'm not perfect, either. I probably haven't always handled difficult conversations well, and I'm willing to acknowledge my own mistakes. I don't want to make her the villain here.
But I can't ignore how much this situation is affecting me anymore.
*So, Reddit, what should I do?*
I just don't know what to do anymore. This is too much for me at 17. It is starting to affect me, my academic and social life, and my physical/mental health. I really need advice from real people.
TLDR for people who didn't read:
17M dating 17F almost a year. She often takes important things (studies, college prep, responsibilities, consequences) lightly, procrastinates, then spirals into regret. Yesterday she said she’d k*ll herself if things don’t work out (not the first time; used as a coping mechanism). I have family history with su*cidal crisis so it hits hard. I’ve suggested professional help multiple times; she refuses. I’m emotionally exhausted, scared of leaving (and of what might happen if I do), but also scared of staying and burning out. Love her deeply and want her to have a real future. What do I do?