Doormats and the concept of breaking

I read something on fetlife ages ago and it's been floating around in my mind ever since. It was written by a slave who asserted that it was okay to be a mindless doormat. She swore she was happy. But she sounded so sad. So broken. So...lonely. She was outside of the circle of submissives and slaves who see themselves as strong individuals. She did everything for her Master (who seemed to not be impeded by any physical disability), from providing for him and his children, to changing the oil in his car. Her world was at odds with everything I see my submissive world to be. I understand that there is a difference between submissive and slave. Yet the two states of being share some undeniable similarities. And I wondered if she was truly happy. Or if she just told herself she was because of the life she had? She sounded like a broken woman who lacked the ability to ever put herself back together.

Which brings me to the concept of "breaking" a submissive. Why would you want a broken person, let alone to be the person breaking them? Bent, yes. Really bent, sure I'm down. But broken, no. Tyvm. Alpha has compared the concept of bending a sub to growing a plant (yes, all these lovely comparisons. Last month I was a beneficial parasite, now I'm a plant. Am I moving up or down the food chain?). If you bend a stem or branch just enough but not to much, it grows in the direction you want. It cracks just a little at that point and rebuilds it's own matter. The branch is likely to never break at that exact point once it heals. It becomes stronger and is more likely to survive.
Why does the concept of "breaking" seem to be so popular?

P.S If anyone has any ideas as to why the stupid little "recent comments" gadget on my page is all jacked up, please let me know lol.