Episode 57: Burnt Out at 27 — When a Young Techie’s Loan-Paced Life Ends in a Panic Attack
Series: Broken by Burden: Financial Survival Strategies for the Troubled Mind
Date: 20 Aug 2025
“He cracked the code to success, but forgot to debug his soul.”
🎭 The Perfect Collapse
Character Sketch
- Arjun Menon, 27, software engineer, Bangalore. A silent achiever. Always stood first. A middle-class prodigy turned six-digit salary earner. But still pays for Wi-Fi on credit.
- Mrs. Lakshmi Menon, 52, his widowed mother in Palakkad. Lives modestly on her late husband’s pension. Believes “a coconut and God’s grace” are enough to ward off all evil.
- Ravi, 28, flatmate and college buddy. Flashier, louder, emotionally blunt but loyal to the core.
Scene 1: Flashback – Arjun’s Room, Palakkad – 2010
It was a hot May afternoon.
Young Arjun sat cross-legged, sweat trickling down his back, scribbling math problems from a borrowed guidebook.
His mother entered silently, placed a cold glass of Juice beside him.
“Amma, don’t waste the sugar, I need to concentrate,” he said.
She smiled. “This Juice is not for your tongue, mole… It’s for your future.”
Arjun’s textbooks were mostly borrowed, notebooks reused. His tuition? Self-taught. His ambition? Clear — get a government merit seat and never let his mother pay another rupee.
And he did.
- B.Tech from NIT Calicut — full scholarship.
- First job: ₹48,000/month — pure pride in his mother’s eyes.
- Promotions, hikes, and now, ₹1.1 lakh/month in hand.
But nobody told him that Bangalore rent eats dreams before breakfast.
Scene 2: Bangalore – Present Day
3:12 AM.
Arjun sat on the floor of his room. Sweat on his neck. Anxiety in his chest.
The clock ticked louder than his thoughts. He had ₹2,146 in his account.
EMIs queued like ghosts — rent, personal loan, bike EMI, credit card interest.
He had a wardrobe full of Zara shirts… and not one shirt of peace.
At 9:17 AM, during a Zoom call with his manager, he felt the room spinning. His breath grew shallow. Laptop on, camera off — Arjun blacked out.
💥 Scene 3: Emergency Room – Later That Day
The doctor’s voice was calm. “You had a panic attack.”
“But I’m not weak,” Arjun muttered.
“Neither is your heart. But even hearts collapse when they’re not heard.”
Arjun blinked back tears. In a corner of the hospital hallway, he messaged his mother.
“Amma, I’m fine. Had acidity. Too much pizza.”
She replied with an audio note.
“Eat less outside, mole. And take rest. I kept a puja for you this morning.”
He didn’t have the heart to tell her he hadn’t prayed in months. Or eaten a real meal in days.
💬 Scene 4: Late Night Balcony Talk — Arjun & Ravi
Ravi:
“Dude, you remember in college, you said success is when your mother sleeps peacefully without checking the electricity bill?”
Arjun (laughs weakly):
“She still checks it. I don’t. Now it’s my credit card bill that haunts me.”
Ravi:
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Arjun:
“Because we were all performing success. Nobody wants to be the dropout in a room full of achievers.”
Ravi stayed quiet. That night, he cooked Maggi, switched off the Wi-Fi, and just sat next to his friend.
🧠 Character Psychology
- Arjun is the classic “high performer, emotionally starved.” He worked hard to make life easy for others but forgot to live for himself.
- Lakshmi, his mother, believes in God, homemade remedies, and her son. She represents every Indian parent who measures success not in lakhs, but in less struggle than they faced.
- Ravi is the kind of friend you mock in public, but call at 2 AM when life breaks. He’s not perfect — but he’s present.
💡 What This Teaches Us
- Financial struggle wrapped in a high salary is still struggle — just branded.
- Burnout isn’t failure. It’s your body screaming, “You’re more than a machine.”
- Hiding debt and pressure creates a personal recession — no one else sees it, but it bankrupts your mind.
- We need to stop calling exhaustion “hustle.” It’s not. It’s avoidance.
🛠️ Real Financial Lessons for Arjuns of the World
- Delay gratification, not sleep
If your EMIs make you skip meals or meds, the gadget wasn’t worth it. - Build an emergency fund before SIPs
Don’t invest before protecting your basics. - Limit your EMI exposure
Your monthly obligations shouldn’t exceed 40% of your take-home. Period. - Take mental health as seriously as credit score
Therapy isn’t luxury. It’s hygiene.
🌱 Where He Is Now
- Arjun shifted to a smaller flat.
- Deleted 3 fintech apps and added one meditation app.
- Takes walks every Sunday and visits his therapist every Thursday.
- His mother now receives ₹7,000 every month — not because she asked, but because he needed to feel like her son again.
“I used to chase promotions,” he wrote in his diary,
“Now, I chase peace.”
Episode 58: The Pawned Scooter — When a Retired Father Funds His Son’s Startup Dreams and Watches It Burn
In the next story, a father gives up his last piece of mobility to support his son’s startup — only to watch the dreams collapse and the silence grow heavier than any debt.
⚠️ Disclaimer
This blog series is a fictional emotional narrative inspired by true societal patterns. It is not a substitute for professional financial, psychological, or legal advice. Please consult qualified experts for personal help. All characters are fictionalized, though their pain may be someone’s truth.
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