A nervous breakdown refers to a mainstream and often-used term to generically describe someone who experiences a bout of mental illness that is so severe, it directly impacts their ability to function in everyday life. The specific mental illness can be anything — depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or something else. But the reference to a “nervous breakdown” usually refers to the fact that the person has basically stopped their daily routines — going to work, interacting with loved ones or friends, even just getting out of bed to eat or shower.
A nervous breakdown can be seen as a sign that one’s ability to cope with life or a mental illness has been overwhelmed by stress, life events, work or relationship issues. By disconnecting from their regular responsibilities and routines, an individual’s nervous breakdown may allow them to try and regroup their coping skills and temporarily relieve the stress in their life.
Someone with a nervous breakdown may be seen as having “checked out” from society temporarily. They no longer maintain their social relationships with others, and find it difficult or impossible to go to work and may call in sick multiple days in a row. People with a nervous breakdown often don’t even have the coping resources available to take care of themselves, or do much more than rudimentary self-care and maintaining. They may over-eat (if it provides them comfort) or simply fail to eat altogether, not feeling the need or energy to do so.
Since a nervous breakdown is not a clinical or scientific term, it’s meaning can also vary in terms of its length and severity, as well as outcomes. Many people who suffer from a nervous breakdown usually seek out treatment (or have treatment sought out on their behalf by a loved one), and treatment is usually on the serious end of the spectrum of all the interventions available. Inpatient hospitalization for a serious nervous breakdown would not be unusual, to help a person become stabilized and find an effective treatment strategy for the mental disorder they’re affected by.
People who suffer from a nervous breakdown and seek out treatment for it will usually recover from the most extreme depths of the “breakdown” within a few weeks’ time (which may be quickened with inpatient psychiatric treatment). Longer-term recovery usually takes months of ongoing outpatient treatment with mental health specialists, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist.
A nervous breakdown is not a condition to be afraid of, as it is simply an indication of overhwelming stress and mental illness in a person’s life. Loved ones and friends of someone who is suffering from a nervous breakdown should be supportive of the individual’s efforts in seeking help for it.
Want to learn more about mental illness?
Read about the 10 myths of mental illness or review the list of common mental disorders for more about specific symptoms.
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7 Comments to
“What is a Nervous Breakdown?”
Let’s say I have a breakdown.
The Sanity Score from this site could be a very valuable tool for detecting if I need outside help.
Could you do an assessment online? I do not understand or agree with all the questions that conclude the sanity score. I would like to clarify the question before answering and get an assessment from someone that I trust. Of course that could not replace a real assessment done by someone in person. But at least I have a starting point. For example I might feel guilty but I do not see any reason to be punished.(I could explain why, if necessary, but not in public) If a question asks both(see Depression Test)how could I answer? I trust very few to understand correctly what I mean. Maybe it’s more my culture than my English but I suppose you don’t want this to be an impediment when this site is internationally used by people.
Well I have a nervous crisis due to an abusive emotional situation a few months ago, My husbands comments sent me through the edge….”that I wasn’t important that his family was important(bil/Mil/son)” I called an ambulance I felt so sick and tired. He in an narsicistic turn said I can’t miss work I got pissed off and told to stay at work!…I stayed in the hospital overnight with turned into an extended weekend..my medical records disapeared due to fact that they didn’t provided me an AD that I was using and that started my menses…I was literary begging for a tampon and had to make due and to calm my depression I was surviving on black tea….
Dr. Grohol I must disagree with your article. When I took basic psychology the Nervous Breakdown was explained in terms of a dissociative mental break. It had a definite onset and was of short duration even though some effects might be permanent.
The term “nervous breakdown” was changed in the DSM. It was not dignified and had no specific relation to the new naming system.
I would ask you to look at a simple problem explained in first semester psychology under the physiology of sight. You can also verify it in Engineering and Design.
Subliminal Distraction was discovered to cause a believed-to-be harmless temporary episode forty years ago. The Cubicle was designed to deal with it after 1968.
But it is so simple it can happen almost anywhere the “special circumstances” are created long enough.
In seven years of searching I cannot find anyone in medicine or psychology aware of it. No one has researched the problem. No one investigates it when there is a mass school shooting, unexplained student suicide, or mass shooting.
The hint that it is at the bottom of unexplained student events is that a very small number of the missing students recover or are found in altered mental states, Ahmad Arain, UCLA - Matthew Wilson, Rice
The list of student involvement should be suicides, disappearances, and mass shootings.
that would like the typical ataque de nervios in spanish….mines was short duration…
I would love to understand all the comments above, but given the poor writing ability of these “posters” I cannot understand what they are talking about. People whom tend to use Acronyms in a general public forum are wasting everyone’s time. Do I know what DSM means? NO, what about AD? NO, so reading your comments means absolutely nothing. Sorry that you’ve wasted your time and mine. Thanks
Tony, I agree! DSM stands for ‘Diagnostic Statistical Manual’ of Mental Illness.
AD, I have no clue either. Kat
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 19 Oct 2009
