Nervous breakdowns
According to the Mental Health Foundation one in 20 of us will suffer clinical depression including a 'breakdown' at some stage in our lives.
What is a breakdown?
The term actually refers to a wide range of experiences when someone has hit rock bottom. There is no such thing in medical terms, and making a diagnosis based on such a flimsy term is near impossible.
- Severe depression: This is the most common type of breakdown, where someone develops severe depression over a few weeks, where they can't sleep, feel on edge, have negative thoughts about themselves, feel more and more hopeless and then one day just can't get out of bed.
- Collapse in social roles: Inability to keep doing day-to-day job and playing your usual part in family/ social life.
- Loss of sense of reality: When the person becomes delusional, 'has lost the plot'. A psychotic breakdown, although this is not always indicative of schizophrenia.
Warning signs of immobilising stress:
- Physical: Diarrhoea, constipation, IBS, back pain, breathing problems, migraines, insomnia, low libido, a disrupted menstrual cycle.
- Emotional: Constant worrying, anxiety, feeling everything is out of your control and you are trapped.
- Behavioural: Mood swings, tantrums, constant fidgeting, withdrawal from normal life.
Why does it happen?
Breakdowns are caused by the interaction of the internal and the external, yet there is always a trigger or catalyst. Breakdowns are often associated with a major life event, such as a bereavement or a broken relationship. Whether such life events cause a breakdown depends upon the individual's ability to cope with the situation. Those who are more vulnerable at the time are therefore more at risk.
If you receive the right treatment a breakdown can be turned into a breakthrough
Breakthrough
It's not all bad - if you receive the right treatment a breakdown can be turned into a breakthrough. If well managed it can enlighten the person as to what went wrong, and help them to come out the other side as a better person. It can teach you about yourself and your coping strategies and help you deal better with stress and challenging situations in the future.
Treatment
Medication and a coping strategy, either through group therapy or individual therapy.
Updated: 11/09/2009
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