Do I move with my roommate again?

Sorry if this doesn't make a ton of sense, I tried to clean it up as best I can, since I kind of blabbed in my notes app.

I F (24) and my partner M (25) live with F (22), whom I met in college and helped out of an abusive situation. She has a history of mental health issues and is neurodivergent (diagnosed).

For background: I pay for all of our food. I ask her to pay her portion of rent and $100 toward utilities (internet, water, electric, heat). She doesn’t make much money, so my partner and I agreed this setup would let us pay bills comfortably while giving her a safe place to stay and not be alone or forced back with her family or abusive ex.

Now to the issues.

She has frequent “episodes.” Not screaming or anything like that, but she will be in her room sobbing and shaking, sometimes even in her sleep. There have been a few instances this year (and others she told me about after the fact) where I had to check on her multiple times, make sure she was eating, etc. She isolates herself, which is unusual because she’s normally very active with hobbies and family nearby.

The first time this happened, her behavior changed over a few weeks. I was constantly knocking on her door, texting her, checking in. It was exhausting and affected my own mental health. I eventually had a long conversation with her and told her I can’t support her in that way and she needs professional help.

More recently, she’s been isolating in her room again. This has felt more “normal” because of bad weather and all of us having computer-based hobbies. One night, she told me and a mutual friend that she needed help. I knocked on her door and got no answer. In the past, I’ve left her alone for a few days before eventually unlocking the door and making sure she eats and drinks. This time, since she said she needed help, I opened the door. I ordered food, got her to eat, and she eventually stopped crying and went to sleep.

I know this affects her, and mental health struggles are serious. But I am not a therapist or psychologist. I can handle my own issues and little else, and this is starting to strain my relationship with her.

I had a conversation with her, my partner, and our mutual friend. I explained that I cannot be the only one pulling her out of these episodes or making sure she takes care of herself. I tried to explain my feelings gently, but I don’t know if it got through. I also asked her how far is too far. At what point do I force her into a facility if she is unable or unwilling to take care of herself?

She is smart, capable, friendly, clean, tidy, helps out when asked, and we do a lot together. I enjoy her company and want her as a friend, but I can’t handle both her mental health and my own.

We were all planning to move to a larger city because we currently live in a small town with few opportunities in our field. But I don’t think I can handle more of this. I don’t like worrying about her being alone in the apartment or coming home to find her in a breakdown, or worse.

We all have savings for the move. She has saved as much as I have and could find her own place, but affording it would be difficult. She hates her current job and would need a new one regardless. My partner and I have agreed we can only do one or two more years living together at most.

We have apartments lined up, but I don’t know if I should go through with moving together and hope a new location and job help her, or wait for things to get worse, or for another episode to happen.

I’ll admit I can be non empathetic. I tend to think her mental health isn’t my responsibility and that she needs to figure it out. I know that makes me come off like an asshole.

What should I do? We have 2 months until the move.

TLDR: My college friend/roommate is struggling with mental health, and I’m unsure if I should bring her with us when we move over an hour away.

Posted May 1, 2026, 5:43 PM UTC

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