After listening to a friend choking on tears and practically having a panic attack, I found myself wondering how such a well together person could be falling apart so badly in the name of love. Sequioia, a long time friend and a firefighter from Jax Beach, Florida, was breaking up with her boyfriend and so upset she couldn’t even talk. What I could gather between her hyperventilating into the cell phone was that she had to move all her stuff out before it got dark.
We’ve all been there, that terrible black hole you find yourself when you break up with someone. And sometimes the actions people take during that dark time is very out of character. We all have a little crazy in us, and breaking up is definitely a trigger. After all, we share 85 percent of our DNA with chimps and they sometimes eat their own babies (i.e. ‘Planet Earth’). So I went out to investigate just how crazy people could get during a break up.

Sequoia, 31, Firefighter, Jax Beach, FL
I got so mad at my boyfriend once I smashed my fist into a mirror. I had never done anything like that before. I had never been so enraged. He had cheated on me. My hand was bleeding like crazy and got all cut up. Definitely not my best moment.

Vivienne, 27, Exotic Dancer, Los Angeles
It was my first serious relationship and it just wasn’t working. He was moody and angry all the time and I was severely bipolar, which is a recipe for disaster. I can’t even remember why I did it, but I was so mad at him that when he left for work one day I took everything, his clothes, his guitar, the TV, stereo, watches, anything I could get my hands on, and threw it all into the creek we lived on. Looking back, it was such an insane thing to do. I still have bipolar disorder but I’ve got it under control now. I would never do anything like that again, no matter how angry I felt.

Ray, 32, Construction Worker, Portland, OR
My girlfriend didn’t call me for two weeks because she needed some space. I kept picturing her hooking up with someone else and after awhile it just drove me crazy. So one night I had a few drinks and was especially belligerent and angry and I went to her house, took her prized cashmere sweaters and lit them on fire in the backyard. We are no longer together and I will never date anyone who wears cashmere cardigans.

Caleb, Video Editor, San Francisco, CA
I broke up with my girlfriend of 7 years when I met the most exciting femme fatale any blue-blooded American boy could lock eyes with. Needless to say that little fantasy did not work out. However, in an attempt to somehow salvage my relationship with my ex, I found out that she was in fact now hooking up with my best friend. I waited one Sunday morning when I knew he had to go to teach his spinning class to see if she came out with him and there they were. I confronted them and in the process got so emotional I cried like a baby. The whole time in the middle of my mind I thought, “Man, I so deserve this.”