41-year-old took a 'sabbatical' in Tanzania 5 years ago—now she lives in South Africa and never plans to return to the U.S.

This story is part of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money series, which details how people around the world earn, spend and save their money.

By 2020, Ashley Cleveland needed a break.

In July of that year, the now 41-year-old was laid off from a job at a tech firm. Spending much of her adult life balancing 60-hour workweeks, mostly in marketing, with raising two young children had taken a toll on Cleveland’s mental health, a feeling she hadn’t quite put her finger on until she began speaking with a therapist.

“I was extremely burnt out,” she tells CNBC Make It. “And I wasn’t really aware that I was struggling with anxiety and depression.”

The diagnosis from her therapist allowed Cleveland to make a claim on her long-term disability policy, which, in turn, gave her the financial flexibility to take a step back and evaluate her situation.