What Is A Nervous Breakdown

Lily

B.R
Staff member
Though not a medical term, nervous breakdown can be described as an acute emotional or psychological disintegration. In layman terms, nervous breakdown is basically an illness or stressor that results in the inability of a person to function properly. A person suffering from the collapse experiences acute depression and has feelings of being out of touch with reality. Nervous breakdown not only hampers the work front of the person, but also causes serious degeneration of the personal life. It causes individuals to develop serious physical, mental and emotional symptoms.

Talking about the cause of nervous breakdown, prolonged stress, panic and anxiety feature as prominent reasons. Though people argue it to be a sudden or an abrupt problem, you will be surprised to know that nervous breakdown is the result of a long drawn out problem. For example, being stressed out or frazzled is a common symptom found in the new generation. To keep up with the pace of the world, youngsters, today, are in a lot of pressure. As a result, they are one of the foremost victims of nervous breakdown. Be it a student, a working professional or a homemaker, everyone experiences bouts of anxiety and panic.

Nervous breakdown strikes harder in case of people dealing with significant grief or those who have lost a long held job. Failing in school, going through divorce, and caring for someone with a lengthy illness are other situations where the occurrence of problem is higher. The best way to deal with the breakdown is to get medical intervention or professional aid right at the early stages. Else, the chances of developing serious mental problems, such as depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, become higher.

Causes Of Nervous Breakdown:

  • Stress
  • Depression
  • Drug and alcohol use
  • Genetics (family history)
  • Coexisting medical conditions, such as vitamin deficiencies or thyroid disorders

Symptoms Of Nervous Breakdown

Physical Symptoms:

  • Insomnia
  • Extreme tiredness
  • Weakness
  • Loss of appetite or an increase in appetite with ‘comfort eating’
  • Diarrhea
  • Constipation
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
  • Breathing problems
  • Migraine headaches
  • Low libido
  • Disrupted menstrual cycle
  • Sleep disturbances

Emotional Symptoms:

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Agitation and restlessness
  • Indecision
  • Loss of confidence and self-esteem
  • Loss of interest in daily activities
  • Inability to stop crying
  • Trouble in concentrating
  • Feelings of guilt, poor judgment
  • Low energy levels
  • Cyclic perplexity
  • Desolation
  • Incapacity of thinking clearly
  • Feeling of insignificance
  • Sadness

Behavioral Symptoms:

  • Mood swings
  • Throwing tantrums
  • Constant fidgeting
  • Gambling
  • Eve teasing
  • Vandalism
  • Alcoholism
  • Overt usage of drugs
  • Strange behavior, such as odd body movements or undressing in public

Psychological Symptoms:

  • Thoughts of grandeur or invincibility
  • Hearing voices
  • Seeing people who are not there
  • Thoughts of dying or wishing to die
  • Exhibiting strong or violent anger
  • Having flashbacks of a prior traumatic event
 
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