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Nervous Breakdown??

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Posted 4/4/2007 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
I have heard of people having nervous breakdowns, but have never actually witnessed anyone having one. What exactly happens, and how does it differ from just a regular panic/anxiety attack?? I was just wondering, because sometimes I feel like I come soo close to having one, but I dont know anything about them really. Has anyone actually known someone who has gone through one?  Thanks! :)

God bless

Dawn

Posted 4/4/2007 5:44 PM (GMT 0)
From a professionals point of view ( my doc) there is NO such thing as a " nervous breakdown" yes you can literally lose it and break down have done that myself and when I said to doc I was having a nervous breakdown he said above

I have seen ppl flip out and go right off the deep end but never seen a person have a nervous breakdown

Am sure others will post and many will disagree with me
this is just what I have been told and what I have seen
Jst my opinion thats all
Posted 4/4/2007 5:49 PM (GMT 0)
I have always wondered the same thing but after years of suffering with anxiety/panic I think it's more of a general term others (who don't understand our disease) use to cover a wide-range of emotional ills we can sometimes suffer.  When I was young I used to think a "nervous breakdown" meant you went running through the streets, flailing your arms and screaming - something like that.  But I think when mentally healthy people (who as a rule don't have chronic anxiety) suddenly out-of-the-blue suffer what WE suffer all the time and they tend to fall apart and can't function (go to work, go out among people, etc.) it's termed a "nervous breakdown".  Sadly for those of us who constantly deal with anxiety/panic/depression it sometimes feels like we LIVE a nervous breakdown every day of our lives.  When I first began to suffer with anxiety in my teens, I was always waiting for it to culminate in a "nervous breakdown" and I was terrified of what that might mean - I was sure it meant I'd just be a babbling idiot bouncing off the walls of some mental institution.  But that's not it at all I don't believe.  It's just a state where alot of us get at times in our lives when the stresses of life get to us more than usual and to varying degrees we experience anxiety, irrational fears, health issues (real or imagined) and just can't function the way we normally do.

At least that's my take on it, hope it helps.

Posted 4/4/2007 6:11 PM (GMT 0)
Andwes, I think that was VERY well put. That is sorta what I also was thinking. When I was younger, I used to think the term "nervous breakdown" meant that someone had "lost their mind", that is to say, they just sat in a corner of a room someplace, muttering to themselves, rambling on and on about nothing in particular( like what is often portrayed in the movies). Someone who lost all touch with reality.

 

You know, that got me to thinking about how people with mental illness are portrayed in the movies and on tv. Also how they are treated in REAL LIFE. We are often looked down upon, ridiculed, told to " just snap out of it"..( that is a good one, like we wouldnt have done that by now if we could), to suck it up and get on with life. It really angers me when people who suffer with Anxiety, Panic, OCD..etc are treated as if they dont matter, are useless and are good for being the brunt of jokes. If someone has a heart problem, or cancer they are given all the love, concern, compassion, and care that society has to offer, but someone who has a mental illness is treated almost as if it is all THEIR fault, and are not shown near as much understanding.

 

 I will say this....while I never made fun of people with mental ilnessness, one thing that suffering from one has taught me is ..I am much more compassionate, and have a MUCH greater appreciation for what they deal with on a day to day basis. You know, the Bible says that we sometimes we are put through certain ordeals or situations so that we may be of help and comfort others dealing with the same issue! I just LOVE this healingwell place! It has been a Godsend to me. yeah

 

God bless and Take care

Dawn

Posted 4/4/2007 6:13 PM (GMT 0)
Great input anwes
I think when someone is /would have a nervous breakdown their whole body would be non responsive and they would not function at all ....catatonic and all
Your brain controls all your nerves and impulses I think that is what my doc was saying generally speaking
Posted 4/4/2007 6:44 PM (GMT 0)
Frankly, Dawn, I think "normal" people (ha) are just plain afraid of mental illness....maybe because they are afraid that they might suffer someday from the same thing.  Lots of people live on the "brink" of anxiety/panic these days and when they see those of us who who actually suffer with it, they just want to avoid us at all costs - almost like they think they might "catch" it.  So much negative spin has been placed on mental illness over the years that anyone acting out of the "norm" is considered weird, odd, or just plain "nuts." by persons who can't understand because they've never gone through it.  It's almost like people who can't help laughing when they see a person with cerebral palsy flailing their arms and jerking around - it's ignorance that breeds reactions like that.  With the way that the world is these days, however, there are just more and more and more people suffering with anxiety and depression and it is isn't going to lessen if things keep up the way they are.  All you have to do is watch the news on CNN once and there's enough scary/weird stuff on there to make the strongest person get freaked out.  Personally I feel like life is an endless struggle to just "stay on top of it"....you sometimes feel like you're treading water in the ocean and just your nose is above the surface and you're trying to keep it that way or you'll go under.

As Simon and Garfunkel sang about Vincent Van Gogh...."you suffered for your sanity"...and in this crazy day and age, we all suffer to keep it.  One thing I'll mention again that I talked about in a posting I made a couple of weeks ago......I had an uncle who was a brilliant accountant and in his mid 20's he apparently started having anxiety/depression (which I couldn't blame him for, considering the staunch, snobby Irish Catholic parents he had - cuz this was waaaay back in the 20's and another relative told me about it).  Anyway, the family was SO embarrassed by his "condition" that they immediately had him commited and then never went to visit him.  He languished in there for over 25 years in what amounted to a "cell" and without any real treatment of any kind ended up being almost a vegetable...non-communicative, etc., etc.  Those of us in the family who know the real story are absolutely SURE he probably would have been fine had he had some treatment (even in those days there were treatments/counseling available).  But my grandparents considered anything "different" a scourge on the family and just wanted to hide it.  At least we can say that nowadays there isn't quite the black mark on mental illness as there used to be - maybe in 20 more years things will have progressed even more, who knows.

Posted 4/4/2007 6:47 PM (GMT 0)
I sure pray and hope for that anwes
Posted 4/4/2007 9:13 PM (GMT 0)
A "nervous breakdown" is just a colloquial term, and I never thought it had anything to do with anxiety, although people who suffer these breakdowns do appear to be anxious. I've always thought of it more as a psychotic episode. Someone mentioned a person running down the street naked, arms flailing, yelling things that don't make sense...etc. I think that's what USED to be called a "nervous breakdown" years ago. My dad told me that when he was a kid, his otherwise stable neighbor just flipped out one day and went after his golden retriever with a carving knife. They (neighbors, family, friends) called that a nervous breakdown. Incidentally, she's still institutionalized 50 years later.
Posted 4/4/2007 9:36 PM (GMT 0)
I have very strong opinions, too, but mine are somewhat different than yours. Not to start an argument, but anxiety and depression are similar, medically, and lots of research has shown that they are indeed medical problems.

You can call them emotional disorders, medical disorders, or mental illness. Anxiety/depression is all of the above. Terms like "mental disorder" have negative connotations and are thusly stigmatized, but that doesn't mean it's a "bad" term. What's "bad" is how people perceive it.

Now, research shows that anxiety/depression is chemical problem in the nervous system. That can be treated relaxation, exercise, and "emotional" therapy, because the brain responds to those things. Drugs can also be used to help out, like you said. There's nothing wrong with using medication long term if it works. It's just another way of dealing with it. Whatever works, works.

I agree with almost 100 percent of what you said. The exception is the "mentally ill" thing. Although it's not a positive term to use, who cares? If we are, we are. We can deal with it. All the stuff you said about exercise and correcting bad thought patterns and self-esteem....that's dead on.

I think that this "mental illness" stuff is a paradoxical byproduct of living in a modern world. We don't fight to survive like our ancestors had to do. We're blasted with media images and "popular opinion". We sit in cubicles or offices, and go home to apartments or houses on cul-de-sacs. What it means to be human has changed quite a lot as civilization has evolved. Extra time is a luxury that's a double-edged sword. We have far too much time to develop these negative ways of thinking. But, again, it has medical roots, too. The medical aspects could be a response to the way we live, and even when they're not they're exasperated by it.

As civilization continues to evolve I thing mental illness will become more and more prevalent. It's a good thing we're an adaptable species. We have the gift of self-actualization, and even the ability to change our own body chemistries. We'll make it. We just have to find that right path that balances pharmaceuticals with changes in behavior and thought. It's different for everyone.
Posted 4/5/2007 3:57 AM (GMT 0)
I think it's just semantics, and semantics don't mean much to me. From mild depression to all-out psychotic insanity, it's all mental illness to me. There are varying degrees of severity and differing treatments, but they all affect the body and mind.
Posted 4/5/2007 4:43 AM (GMT 0)
maybe we are the "normal" ones, and everyone else are the ones with the problems?? ;)
Posted 4/6/2007 12:04 AM (GMT 0)
Quite possible .......
Posted 4/7/2007 10:55 AM (GMT 0)
My view on this is when a person hits rock bottom - I see that as a breakdown.
Posted 4/7/2007 11:10 AM (GMT 0)
That is a good point Vic
Luvs ya talk later
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