Life can become overwhelming, limiting your ability to see the good things around you. While many people experience stress, some people may feel more significant and debilitating effects from that stress. The symptoms of a nervous breakdown may be a good place to start if you feel as though you are unable to continue on the path you are on. If you are at risk, now is the best time to get help – look for health and wellness therapy that can help improve your life and your future.
What Is a Nervous Breakdown?
A nervous breakdown, sometimes called a mental breakdown, occurs when a person is experiencing intense mental distress for some reason. When it occurs, a person is unable to function as they normally do in daily life. The term is often used to describe a wide range of mental health disorders including acute stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. Nervous breakdown is not a true medical term, but many people still use it to describe intense stress and difficulty with coping with life.
What Are the Symptoms of a Nervous Breakdown?
The only way to know if this is happening to you is to use a mental health treatment center for a formal assessment and diagnosis. However, there are some symptoms that are often associated with a nervous breakdown. They often include:
- Symptoms of depression including hopelessness, sadness, and thoughts of self-harm
- Symptoms of anxiety including clammy hands, muscle tension, and high blood pressure
- Hallucinations
- Panic attacks including chest pain, racing heart, and extreme fear
- Flashbacks to a traumatic event
- Extreme changes in mood
- Outbursts or aggression
Many people with these symptoms struggle with relationships and pull away from family and friends. They may also struggle with maintaining hygiene, eating properly, and sleeping well. Many times, they struggle with daily tasks even if they are tasks they completed many times before.
What Can Cause a Nervous Breakdown?
Sometimes it is not possible to pinpoint a specific event or experience that leads to a nervous breakdown. Other times, it is clear what brought it on. Some of the most common situations involve stress. A person is usually under too much stress to manage and that can be brought on by external factors they cannot control as well as internal ones they can. Some of the most common causes include:
- Inability to relax or sleep
- Traumatic events such as the loss of a loved one, watching someone suffer or experiencing violence
- Significant change in life, often one that is negative, such as divorcing or losing a job
- Chronic medical conditions especially chronic pain
- Persistent stress from other people, including relationships or work/school
When a person experiences this type of intense situation, they generally have no way to control what is happening to them. They may use drugs and alcohol as a way to help reduce the symptoms they have. Yet, even this cannot help them to overcome the feelings of intense stress.
What Can Be Done to Help Someone Experiencing a Nervous Breakdown?
It is critical to get into a mental health treatment program. As with treatment through anxiety treatment center programs, treatment for nervous breakdowns has to focus on a person’s specific needs. Some people may benefit from addiction treatment to first overcome dependence. Most often, those with mental health disorders need medication to help control some of their symptoms. Those medications may be similar to those used for anxiety treatment or depression treatment, depending on the specific symptoms you have.
What’s most important is to know you can get help and get through what’s happening to you right now. With treatment, you may be able to finally reclaim your health and mental wellbeing while working through the stressors that may be limiting your health now.