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A mental breakdown is often understood to mean a collapse of one’s mental stability, often which has occurred in response to an external crisis or series of crises. Events which can spur this kind of psychological collapse might include job stress, unemployment, divorce, the death of a loved one, or financial troubles.
12 years ago. Rating: 14 | |
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12 years ago. Rating: 13 | |
:-Z...You`ll give us all one if you continue to ask the same questions??:-0
12 years ago. Rating: 10 | |
DefinitionThe terms "nervous breakdown" and "mental breakdown" have not been formally defined through a diagnostic system such as the DSM-IV or ICD-10, and are nearly absent from current scientific literature regarding mental illness.[1][2] Although "nervous breakdown" does not necessarily have a rigorous or static definition, surveys of laypersons suggest that the term refers to a specific acute time-limited reactive disorder, involving symptoms such as anxiety or depression, usually precipitated by external stressors.[1]
Specific cases are sometimes described as a "breakdown" only after a person becomes unable to function in day-to-day life.[3]
[edit] Causes
Main article: Stress (psychological)
Causes of such breakdowns are varied. A 1996 study found that problems with intimate relationships, such as divorce or marital separation, contributed to 24% of nervous breakdowns.[4] Problems at work and school accounted for 17% of cases, and financial problems for 11%. Surveys suggest that in the United States, health problems have decreased in importance as a contributor to nervous breakdowns, as these accounted for 28% of nervous breakdowns in 1957, 12% in 1976, and only 5.6% in 1996.[4] Though in themselves, nervous breakdowns are considered a "health problem" by most professionals.
[edit] Similar disorders
Rapport, Todd, Lumley, and Fisicaro suggest that the closest DSM-IV diagnostic category to nervous breakdown is Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood (Acute).[1] Adjustment disorders and nervous breakdowns are both acute reactions to stress that resolve after removal of the stressor. However, DSM-IV excludes from adjustment disorders cases secondary to bereavement, which contributes to approximately 6-8% of nervous breakdowns.[1]
Nervous breakdowns may share some features of acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, in that these each occur in response to an external stressor, and may be marked with sleep disturbance, diminished concentration, and mood lability. However, the symptoms of nervous breakdown do not include the constellation of re-experienced trauma, dissociation, avoidance, and numbing of general responsiveness that are associated with the other two disorders, and the types of stressors linked to a nervous breakdown are generally less extreme.[1]
Nervous breakdowns may share many features of mixed anxiety-depressive disorder (MADD). However, the definition of MADD suggests a chronic condition, in contrast to the acute, short-term nature of a nervous breakdown.
12 years ago. Rating: 8 | |
It's when your mental thoughts and feellings are so overwhelming, that you can't function anymore. You would find it hard to go to school or work and concentrate. And you would have so much trouble getting your kids off to school, that someone would have to do it for you. Fortunately most people heal from a mental breakdown, b/c of therapy. Keeping busy and running,walking, or exercising helps ; so does Yoga, if you're up to going out and engaging in a yoga class., Or, get a DVD on the subject.
12 years ago. Rating: 7 | |
WHEN YOU GET "HIT OVER THE HEAD WITH A " MENTAL PAN !!
12 years ago. Rating: 6 | |
Not a pleasant experience and relapses often occur. Confusion, disordered thinking, pressure to deal with a problem with dire consequences for oneself and others even though damned if you do and damned if you don’t while spinning out of control and unable to drive because your own thinking is too distracting to do anything safely….worse if you don’t know to get help thinking it’s up to you to solve your problem and less traumatic if you know who to call or they have an effective medication. It is a frightening experience unlike any drug I have encountered and sometime the body will take control and you’ll experience a seizure. A seizure will put you on the ground with all of your muscles fully contracted and you foaming at the mouth followed by hurling and wishing you were on a toilet…..followed by hot and cold flashes, violent or bazar hallucinations and lapsing into a coma just as you break into a cold sweat. If you survive…you may remember what happened or maybe not. But really, who would want to remember? And just think, the CIA wanted me to come back .
12 years ago. Rating: 4 | |