Steve Bonsignore couldn't take it anymore. The never-ending stress. The soul-crushing mistakes. The inevitable disappointment. The public humiliation. It wore on him and dragged him down. So he gave it all up for a while.

It's hard to blame him. You'd need a break, too, if you had it that rough.

Bonsignore, bless his aching heart, is a lifelong Mets fan.

That hasn't been easy for Bonsignore. Not lately. You think the Phils have given you a headache? The Mets - who come to town to start a series with the Fightin's tonight - turned June into one long tragic comedy. They finished the month 9-18, their worst stretch since they went 7-19 back in September 2003.

In mid-June, Bonsignore reached what he called his "breaking point" when the Mets lost to the Yankees after a lazy fly ball hit Luis Castillo's glove and popped out. The highlight was replayed on ESPN for days. Mets fans called it "embarrassing." Everyone else called it "hilarious."

"I sat on the couch staring for two minutes," Bonsignore said. "Then I turned the TV off and said, 'That's it. I'm done. That's enough. I need a break.' "

Bonsignore never thought he'd say something like that.

The 31-year-old public relations professional lives in Manhattan. There's a lot going on in that city - something Bonsignore only recently found out. Baseball season and Mets games have dominated his life since he was a kid.

His family likes to tell a story about the day it realized he'd be a hopeless supporter of the Amazin's: Bonsignore's mom asked the rhetorical question, "Who's on third?"

"And I said, 'Mazzilli,' " Bonsignore recalled, "because Lee was on third."

Bonsignore was maybe 2 or 3 at the time.

Since then, his love for the Mets has grown into an obsession. He splits a full season-ticket plan with his friends, and when he's not at the park, he's on his couch watching the Mets and texting with his buddies. He DVRs all the games, too, just in case he has to stay late at work or he wants to re-watch them later on. Bonsignore's wife would sometimes ask him to go for a walk or try a new restaurant, but his answer was almost always the same: "The Mets are on."

The Amazin's are an everyday thing for Bonsignore. Or at least they were.

That night Castillo blew it, Bonsignore did what a lot of addicts before him had done - he admitted he had a problem, then resolved to check himself into rehab. For two straight weeks, Bonsignore forced himself to quit the Mets. He didn't watch them on TV or listen to them on the radio, and he stayed as far away from Citi Field as possible.

He couldn't remember the last time he missed a game, let alone two in a row. It might have happened back when he was in college. Maybe. He's not sure. It had been that long.

Quitting wasn't easy. His friends busted his chops about it. A lot. So did his mom. That's how Bonsignore became a Mets fan in the first place. His mother is also a hardcore Amazin's devotee. Makes sense. They say addiction is hereditary.

Midway through the detox, Bonsignore went to visit his mother. She had the Mets game on TV and invited her son to watch. He declined. His mom took it about as well as he could have expected.

"She called me a baby," Bonsignore said, laughing. "I told her, 'Sean Green is on the mound. I'm sure they'll implode. Enjoy.' "

While Bonsignore tried to kick his 25-year habit, he did all the things he previously missed out on - went to dinners with his wife and tried new bars, saw movies, and read books. He also chronicled his progress on his blog (LegendOfCecilioGuante.com). My favorite entry came on Day 11. It was titled "Laughing from Afar":

"This whole thing kinda started off as a joke, but . . . has progressed from far-fetched fantasy towards sensible and healthy decision. The Mets are flat-out embarrassing. They are as predictable as they are lifeless."

In another entry, Bonsignore deadpanned: "Clutch pitching. Clutch hitting. Fire. Grit. Hustle. These are not terms one would think to ever associate with this team."

He's my kind of New Yorker.

The self-imposed two-week hiatus is over. Bonsignore is following the Mets again, but it's not the same. He said he's a different man. He said he's changed.

"I realized something while I was detoxing: I don't miss watching this team," Bonsignore said. "I'm back now, but I have a better perspective. I'm not hesitant to go out to dinner because, 'Oh, no, the Mets are playing.' Some of my friends think that makes me a defeatist. It also makes me a little more sane."

If only the same could be said for all Mets fans.

Contact columnist John Gonzalez at 215-854-2813 or gonzalez@phillynews.com.