You've probably experienced a nervous breakdown at least once in your life. And some - more than once. What to do if you have a nervous breakdown, if it comes again?
Many people think - what kind of nervous breakdowns do you have in the spring?! Well, okay, in the fall and winter, when it’s dark, cold and dreary. However, March is also a difficult month for the psyche. Gray outside the window, slush underfoot, vitamin deficiency, short daylight hours - all this has a bad effect on your mood. Every trifle makes you angry, every little thing makes you angry and offended. How to recognize a nervous breakdown?
Why do we worry
The root of excessive sensitivity to what is happening lies in various reasons. Psychologists identify several main sources:
- Frequent exposure to stress in childhood and adolescence.
- Excessive parental care, which does not allow the development of protective mechanisms.
- Genetic predisposition to reduced stress resistance.
- Constant negative atmosphere at home, at work and in the company of friends.
What does stress lead to?
Anxiety and constant stress lead to the fact that a person becomes unable to control his own life at a sufficient level. Added to this are other unpleasant consequences.
- Tendency to use substances that can make you temporarily forget that you have a problem. This could be alcohol, special medications, or excessive smoking.
- Loss of life goals. Fear of failure makes you abandon your plans and implement your ideas.
- The development of chronic fatigue provokes the appearance of various diseases, which the body does not have the strength to fight.
- The brain, overloaded with processing constant stress, loses tone and performance.
Are a nervous breakdown and a nervous breakdown, psychosis the same thing?
– Nervous breakdown and nervous disorder are overlapping concepts. Nervous disorder is also synonymous with mental disorder, therefore, as a generalized abstract concept, it can have signs of a variety of conditions. That is, a person who is not yet aware of what is happening to him (from a clinical point of view) still notes changes in his psychological status that he does not have in a normal state.
When talking about his problems, for example, to himself, to his friends, or when going to the doctor, he may say: “I think I have some kind of nervous disorder.” But the specifics of a mental disorder, that is, a specific name for the state in which a person is, can only be given by a specialist.
Psychosis is also a mental disorder, only deeper and more severe. Psychotic disorders are characterized by a more severe impairment of reality testing and a distorted perception of oneself and the world. This includes symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, a feeling of external and sometimes otherworldly or alien influence (remember the famous aluminum caps), a sense of personal greatness, inadequate fear of persecution, and so on.
Irritation and discomfort
When we are nervous, we begin to get lost, when we are lost, we become nervous. You need to be able to break this vicious circle. Make it a habit to breathe deeply whenever you feel irritated. This will help you calm down quickly enough to make the right decisions.
Pay attention to yoga. This activity is designed to ensure internal harmony, and this is precisely what is lacking in people exposed to stress. A few tens of minutes a day, and you are already quite capable of controlling your emotions and easily escaping discomfort. Breathing techniques, correct postures and thoughts are all aimed at enabling you to achieve absolute calm.
Analysis and analysis of fears
To get rid of the constant worries that are so annoying every day, you need to do a lot of work on yourself. If you don’t do this, you will interfere with the lives of not only yourself, but also those around you. To live without worrying and without spending a lot of energy on stress, learn to deal with all your fears. Divide them into two lists: solvable and unsolvable.
Let's start with the problems that can be solved. If you understand that with due effort you can easily cope with them, then you should not waste your nerves worrying about this. Now let's look at another list. Ask yourself, can I change anything? And if the answer is no, then stop worrying about something that has nothing to do with you.
What to do if a teenager has a nervous breakdown
What are the signs of a nervous breakdown in a teenager? Does this happen to children too?
It happens. And teenage meltdowns should be taken seriously, as they can mask serious illnesses. Parents think that the child is simply tired of studying, and that’s why he is “freaking out,” however, abnormal behavioral reactions may be a symptom of hidden depression or another disease. Many mental disorders (anxiety, bipolar, depressive, personality disorders) debut at 15–20 years of age.
Therefore, if a child has become agitated, irritable, aggressive, or, conversely, complains of constant fatigue and apathy, consult a psychotherapist. You need to figure out whether these are signs of a nervous breakdown in a teenager, youthful maximalism, hormonal changes, or some kind of disease.
What to do if you have a nervous breakdown? Could you give any recommendations?
To begin with, change your lifestyle. Normalize sleep and rest patterns, avoid work or sitting at the computer in the evening (especially if signs of a nervous breakdown are observed in a teenager). Physical activity is encouraged, but not too intense. Preferably in the first half of the day, so as not to excite the nervous system before bedtime.
Now about what not to do during a nervous breakdown. You should definitely not take medications containing phenobarbital. In most European countries such drugs are not produced, but in America they are generally classified as narcotic drugs. In our country, they drink almost liters of them, especially older people. This can lead to an addiction that can be difficult to break.
It is not forbidden to drink soothing herbal infusions. But if you take them constantly and they don't help, consult a psychotherapist. The doctor will select medications that will actually be effective. After all, it’s one thing when a person has a one-time emotional outburst (then you can really drink a sedative drink) and quite another thing if the symptoms of a nervous breakdown bother you for several weeks or months. This will lead to poor tolerance to stress, rapid exhaustion and inevitable conflicts with others.
Childhood trauma
Don't lose sight of the conditions and circumstances of your childhood. The cause of most of your problems lies there. Increased susceptibility to stress is an echo of too low self-esteem, which was formed at an early age.
When figuring out how not to worry about anything, try to understand that every person has the right to make mistakes. No one will reproach you or punish you for doing something wrong. Let go of the experiences of childhood and live now as an adult, accomplished person.
What can happen if you are constantly nervous and crazy?
Scientists from the USA claim that it is not stressful situations that have a huge impact, but how a person perceives them. They conducted a study in which 30 thousand volunteers who regularly experienced stress took part. Scientists have found that people who do not dwell on problems are less susceptible to various diseases. However, those volunteers who were upset about any reason began to develop chronic diseases that increased the risk of mortality.
A short-term stressful situation can be beneficial for the body, as it helps a person mobilize his strength in critical moments. However, another thing is when stress becomes chronic, the human body constantly produces cortisol or the death hormone. It affects the muscles, including the heart, and forces them to work at full capacity.
Live without looking back
In order not to look for unnecessary pitfalls and not worry about anything at all, learn to live for today. Remember that our past is far behind us, those events will never touch us again. It is very important to realize the abstractness of those times and stop clinging to them.
The same advice applies to the future. The situation you imagine may never happen. You won't know until you try something. But if you constantly fear failure, failure and condemnation, you will never be able to happily exist in the present. What surrounds you every day is your life.
Can you predict that I'm about to have a nervous breakdown? Or could it happen suddenly?
– I always encourage people to be aware of their condition. After all, then they can quickly understand what is happening to them and react more adequately, helping themselves to avoid unfolding painful dynamics.
Metaphorically, if I can clearly see the terrain under my feet and check the map, I can navigate it more safely and get to the desired point. In such a situation, I don’t need to predict; I need to make adequate and timely decisions. If by “prediction” we mean recognition, then we check the symptoms described above.
Sometimes a nervous breakdown may feel “sudden”, but it is always preceded by some external and reciprocal internal event or even a series of events. It’s just that a person might not realize it and not think about it. Some of the experiences were hidden from his consciousness and processed on a subconscious level, and when it became impossible to ignore or repress the information, obvious mental or physical phenomena appeared.
One of my patients cared for her bedridden mother-in-law for a very long time and with great difficulty. She was very tired and could not share it with anyone else until she eventually came down with depression herself.
No need to feel sorry for yourself
Quite a lot of people, at the first signs of fatigue, give up and begin to complain about their problems with all their might. This behavior results in despondency and uncertainty consuming you entirely. Self-compassion is the body's response to any effort. Under no circumstances should you allow self-pity to manifest itself in any way.
You need to firmly believe that you will cope with all the tasks and questions that arise. It is worth forcing yourself not to be distracted by momentary impulses. Believe me, as soon as you divert your attention from the irritant, it almost immediately ceases to have any effect on you.
Can a nervous breakdown be chronic?
– From the very definition of a nervous breakdown it is clear that this is a rather acute and temporary reaction. If a person fails to slow down the progression of the disorder, then it continues to deepen in a specific individual direction, depending on the characteristics of the individual and the functioning of the psyche.
As a result, even after successful treatment, there may be relapses of disorders, for example, after another distress (distress is a negative form of stress; the positive form is called eustress - Ed.). But everything is individual.
Don't invent problems
Many people tend to inflate a simple obstacle into a whole pile of insurmountable problems. As a result, they seek advice and help even for the simplest decisions. The development of self-esteem and independence suffers from this. Such people do not know how to set goals or go towards them. Inert and passive, for them life becomes dull and dull.
There is no need to try to find additional pitfalls in any situation. Excessive thinking leads to the fact that the brain begins to give you the most negative scenario for the development of the situation. As a result, you accept it as reality and are already set up for failure.
How to get out of a stressful situation
With severe stress, it seems that this state can consume you for a long time. Believe me, this is absolutely not true. There are several simple techniques to get rid of the unpleasant influence of irritants.
- Turn your thoughts into a positive direction. The cause of your stress needs to be presented in a funny, even ridiculous way.
- Take a break for 5 minutes. Move away from the voltage source for a short time. This will give you the opportunity to calmly breathe and pull yourself together.
- Don't raise your voice. No matter how much you want to scream, when you find yourself in a stressful situation, remain calm. You can scream and let off steam later, alone with yourself.
- Promise yourself a reward for endurance and patience. Waiting for a quick treat or something new will put you in a calmer and more peaceful mood.
What diseases can constant nervousness lead to?
During a stressful situation, a person can even hear how hard his heart is beating. An excess of adrenaline, which occurs during stress, provokes spasm of the heart vessels. This can lead after some time to serious health problems, such as coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, and heart attack, which often ends in death.
A person who is constantly under stress suffers from headaches and insomnia. After some time, depression and a feeling of apathy may appear, since cortisol blocks the production of the hormones serotonin and dopamine, which are responsible for a good mood.
It should also be noted that people who regularly experience stressful situations begin to gain weight very quickly, because on an intuitive level they try to cope with psychological discomfort by eating stress with chocolate and other sweets containing the hormone of happiness.
Very often, those who are constantly nervous develop problems with the digestive tract. Previously, many believed that the cause of gastritis and gastric ulcers was stress. After Helicobacter pylori bacteria were discovered, this statement became secondary. However, doctors to this day believe that people with a suspicious character are at risk.
Day of rest
Do you have plenty of days off, but still feel tired and overwhelmed? This means you don’t know how to completely relax and let go of all problems. Give yourself a day of rest by following a few simple conditions.
- Change your usual weekend routine. At work, take the whole day off during the week, send your children to relatives or hire a nanny. Changes should also affect the style of relaxation. If you are used to spending weekends at home, go out of town. On the contrary, it will be useful for avid travelers to stay at home.
- Wake up not by an alarm clock, but when you want. After waking up, take a relaxing bath.
- Find some nice company for your morning coffee or tea. Remember, moments like these help you deal well with stress.
- Treat yourself to delicious food. You can either order it or cook it yourself.
How not to worry about studying?
One of the important parts of life (at least 11 years) is studying. Most stress happens to schoolchildren and students because of it. Worries about grades, exams and admission, relationships with the teacher and class are just the tip of the iceberg.
Don't be afraid to make mistakes
We come to school and university to gain knowledge. It's okay to make mistakes at this stage. Don't be shy about speaking in front of a class or group. This is just preparation for your future life and working on your skills to cope with stress. You will definitely need this skill at work.
Don't chase grades
For many schoolchildren, studying is a race for good grades. But sometimes an average student achieves greater heights than an excellent student, because he concentrated on knowledge. Of course, such an argument is not entirely true for graduating classes, when every point counts. Care about the quality of knowledge. They are the ones who will help you get into a good college or university.
Drop the patterns
The classic pattern is that a student enters 1st grade, studies diligently for 11 years, and graduates from school with a good certificate straight to university. This doesn't mean you have to be exactly the same. You can go to study after 9th grade, and later enter a university and build a career. As an option, after university, get several more higher educations and work outside of your diploma. Or even with a school education after the course, work in a BT company. Throw away stereotypes and look for your own ways of self-development.
Solve problems as they arise
Learn to plan your day in order to allocate time for preparing for exams, CT or writing a coursework (thesis). This way you can be sure that you will have time to get everything done. And you won’t have to grab your textbooks in a panic at the last moment and bite your elbows.
Don't forget about rest
Be sure to take time to rest. Sometimes, to calm your nerves, you need to unwind. A well-deserved rest can be a favorite hobby, meeting with friends, watching your favorite movies and just a good sleep. After a reboot, you will appreciate everything with a fresh look and prepare for your studies more productively.
Changing the daily routine
How can you not worry about anything all day long? It’s very simple, add a few pleasant moments to your usual schedule. This will help you get distracted and get a good dose of positive emotions. They will help you cope with almost any stress.
- Breakfast should be delicious. Yogurt, natural, chocolate with tea, oatmeal with honey and dried fruits - it doesn’t matter what you start your day with, the main thing is that it brings you a feeling of happiness.
- Don't skip exercise, it gives you vigor and strength to withstand stress all day.
- Learn to distract yourself from unpleasant situations. At such moments, think about what brings you peace.
- In particularly difficult situations, look at the flowing water. Is there a river nearby? No problem, just a water tap is enough.
- Write down your concerns on paper. Then just tear it up and throw it away. Imagine throwing away your problems along with the scraps.
What is the difference between nervous exhaustion and a nervous breakdown?
– Nervous exhaustion is the price to pay for living a life of wear and tear. When responding to stress, especially if it is severe and prolonged, our body's resources are depleted, and in this sense we consider it as a process. That is, we “spend” to a greater extent than we recover.
Many people notice that when there is a surge of stress hormones, they “hold on well,” react quickly, and the body functions at “high speed.” And then, at the moment of relaxation, they get sick. This means that, unbeknownst to them, they spent more energy than they could afford. Such overload and its result - nervous exhaustion - are felt by a person as severe fatigue, lack of energy, asthenia.
A nervous breakdown may or may not be part of the stress response. If the stress is strong enough and long-lasting, but the person copes with it emotionally (feels that he has defeated the “enemy” or at least is winning), then there will be no breakdown, but nervous exhaustion is quite possible later.
We will see a “full negative set” if the stress is serious and there is no feeling of coping with it. Then, at the exit or even along the way, a nervous breakdown and at the same time exhaustion may occur.
Nervous exhaustion is dangerous primarily because it can affect the health of the whole organism. A malfunction will put a person out of action for an indefinite period. It is unknown which system will fail or require attention, it is unknown what resources will be needed to recover, and it is impossible to predict what social and emotional consequences may occur.
I don’t want to force the picture, because often people “get off” with several colds in a row and move on with their lives. But in any case, timely self-care will not harm anyone and will help maintain health.
Living stress-free is easy
We can't help but worry about the people who are close enough to us. But we can learn not to lead these worries to full-blown stress and nervous breakdowns. Living without the destructive influence of negativity is very simple, you just need to follow a few pleasant rules for this.
- Take daily walks in the fresh air, this will give you the opportunity to relax, the main thing is to let only pleasant thoughts come to you.
- Try any sport. This will strengthen your body and increase self-esteem.
- Be sure to give yourself a good rest. Even if the schedule is too busy, there should be room for respite.
How can I tell if I'm having a nervous breakdown?
– Various sources include the following symptoms as neurotic manifestations of a “nervous breakdown”:
- increased emotional sensitivity, which was not there before, irritability, anxiety;
- feeling of helplessness, hopelessness, feeling small, weak, defective, wounded, bad;
- craving for a state of “oblivion” (you want to get drunk, fall asleep, “disconnect from life”);
- impulsive suicidal thoughts, acute desire to harm oneself;
- insomnia or, conversely, excessive drowsiness;
- complaints of cognitive failure (when it’s hard to think, remember, impossible to concentrate);
- a state of acute anxiety, panic, constant rapid heartbeat or frequent increase in heart rate;
- loss of interest in everyday activities, work, friends, hobbies, clothes, etc.;
- decreased or loss of sexual desire;
- loss of sense of humor;
- nervous and physical exhaustion, noticeable weight loss or gain;
- physical ailments, signs of decreased immunity,
- marked deterioration in social functioning, need for isolation;
- other individual reactions that were not there before with their negative subjective assessment.
Specialist help
If you understand that conventional methods do not help you, and you cannot help but worry about problems more than necessary, trust a psychologist. In this way, you will not only learn to control your emotions, but also part with a number of serious problems from the past that can ruin the future.
It is also worth checking the health of the endocrine system and the thyroid gland in general. A hormonal imbalance negatively affects the body's resistance to stress.
In addition, it is easy to check the level of protection of the body through DNA research. It will show how the main “conductors” of our emotional state - serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine - work, and you will find out how susceptible your body is to stress and vulnerable to external stimuli, and most importantly, you will understand what to do about it.
Causes and symptoms of a nervous breakdown in women
What are the symptoms of a nervous breakdown?
There is no official diagnosis of a nervous breakdown. This is more of an everyday concept. The symptoms of a nervous breakdown are quite vague. Usually this definition means increased excitability, irritability, touchiness, and psychological stress. There may also be somatic problems, such as headaches.
In Soviet times, such a diagnosis was popular - neurasthenia. It is still listed in the classification of diseases. So, the symptoms of a nervous breakdown are close to the symptoms of neurasthenia - a mental disorder that manifests itself in increased irritability, fatigue, and poor tolerance to prolonged mental and physical stress.
How to recognize a nervous breakdown in women? And is it true that the fairer sex has breakdowns much more often than men?
The symptoms have already been discussed. But neuroses and neurasthenia do occur more often in women due to their physiological characteristics. For example, due to hormonal changes, many women, 10-12 days before the onset of their critical days, suffer from manifestations of premenstrual syndrome, which is characterized by increased excitability and irritability. During menopause, against the background of decreased production of female hormones, nervous breakdowns are also possible: hormonal levels significantly affect the state of the nervous system.
Are the causes of a nervous breakdown just emotional and physical overload? Or something else?
There are several causes of a nervous breakdown. There are objective reasons - intense mental and physical stress, a large amount of work, overwork, lack of sleep and rest... All this can lead to a nervous breakdown. However, not everyone has it - much depends on the individual characteristics of the person. Imagine the situation: your car was cut off on the road. Or they try to cut in line at the checkout. Some people will not react to this, but people with a high level of excitability will instantly lose their temper. Therefore, another cause of a nervous breakdown is the so-called personality disorders.
In addition, many consider a symptom of a nervous breakdown to be something that may actually be a symptom of an illness. Let's say panic disorder. Patients who suffer from it experience panic attacks (panic attacks), accompanied by rapid heartbeat, a feeling of shortness of breath, fear of losing control... People at this moment think: “I had a nervous breakdown,” but in fact it is a panic attack.
