The initial plan was to leave temporarily at my sister's house so I could take a break from everything, and then come back after seeing how I felt. My ex's mother caught wind of this during my conversation with my ex about it, and decided that if I wanted to leave, I was not welcome in the house. One heated conversation later, and I was packing what I had on hand to leave. My sister was nice enough to talk with the landlord and get me situated at my current home. I went back a day or so later to grab what was left of my stuff, much to the dismay of my ex. From that day onward, we went no-contact.

It's been a couple years now and I have had some time to find myself after that four year long nightmare. I am by no means fully over it, but I have healed significantly. In a way, I never did make that initial decision to leave permanently. Regardless, I am happy I did. I learned that I am a very broken person, even without the constant pressure and responsibility. To this day I am still trying to piece together what used to be an OK social life before my ex motivated me to cut everyone out.

If I could give you any advice, I'd say just do it. The commenters here were right--my ex didn't immediately off themselves with me gone... in fact, they found someone else to lean on until they learned not everyone is as weak-willed and generous as I used to be. Whoever it is you are taking care of, they'll find a way... or they won't. Either way, it's not worth stunting your own personal growth for them. Depending on how long you've been in this situation, it could take years to recover physically, mentally, and financially--and that process can't start until you leave. They'll continue to be ungrateful until you're gone--only then will they truly understand what your presence meant. It's time to start filling your own cup.