The main causes of a nervous breakdown
Loss of a job, divorce, death of a family member, confrontation in a team of employees, bankruptcy - in a word, any force majeure that breaks the usual circle of everyday life can push you to a nervous breakdown.
Wrong life attitudes can also drive a person crazy: overestimation of strength, replacement of real values with illusory ones. The result of this is heartbreaking disappointment, awareness of complete hopelessness, painful phobias, and prolonged depression.
The main provocateurs of a nervous disorder are severe stress or anxiety neurosis. In addition, long-term use of psychotropic medications, including sedatives, and addiction to alcohol or drugs can lead to the described painful condition.
What is a nervous breakdown?
A nervous breakdown is a state at the peak of strong emotional and mental stress. A person is already at the end of his body’s strength. Often this condition develops after a person has been in an unpleasant situation for a long time. A person must be very worried, worried, nervous, and for a long time, in order to reach a nervous breakdown after a certain number of days.
Usually the human body has resources “in reserve”. This is necessary in case a person finds himself in a situation where he cannot recuperate. So, the body stores fats, which it will use in situations when a person is hungry. The body restores the nervous system in case a person encounters a stressful situation and experiences it strongly. The body stores energy if a person is unable to sleep and rest for some time.
However, if a person is constantly undernourished, lacks sleep, does not rest, worries, is nervous, anxious, etc., then the body is gradually depleted. When energy becomes very low, a protective mechanism is triggered - a nervous breakdown, which to some extent should force a person to wake up, stop, realize what he is doing and what is happening to him, and at the same time change his lifestyle.
A person can find himself in various stressful situations. However, a nervous breakdown is the result of one stressful situation that a person lives for a long time, remembers, replays in his head, does not let go, and is emotionally and psychologically worried. A nervous breakdown takes time to develop. Therefore, one-time stressful situations are not capable of developing it.
A nervous breakdown is inherent in modern man because:
- He lives in a constant race for happiness, which consists of wealth, attractiveness and status. If a person does not possess all this, then he must suffer due to the lack of what he wants and during the achievement of goals.
- A person becomes a workaholic, which today is even encouraged to some extent.
- The person is easily susceptible and emotional. In other words, any petty troubles make him suffer and worry.
- A person is an exemplary family man - he is a person who fulfills all the requirements that are imposed on him by law and public morality. A person no longer gets pleasure from being a family man, but works for his family, lives for it, often forgetting about his needs and desires.
- A person is educated, that is, he has a clear picture of the world, what should happen and how it should happen, and worries about any little thing that may indicate an unfavorable outcome of events. In other words, a person uses his knowledge to robotize the world around him and fear what has not yet happened.
The international disease system does not yet recognize a nervous breakdown, often referring it to a nervous breakdown. Nervous breakdowns often occur in workaholics who frequently face stressful situations or simply work under constant stress, as well as in those who lose their temper.
Victims of a nervous breakdown:
1. Adults
For people of mature age, stressful situations lie in wait at every step: in everyday life (disagreements with household members, illness and death of loved ones, shortage of funds), at work (impossible tasks, lack of mutual understanding in the team), on vacation (flight delays, missing luggage, injuries). Not many people are able to take a philosophical view of everyday troubles and find constructive solutions in difficult situations.
2. Children
The child’s fragile nervous system is sometimes unable to repel the mental attacks of the outside world. Anything that can frighten or upset a little person can lead to a breakdown: the aggressive behavior of a dog, the pressure of parental education, family quarrels, academic failures, disagreements with peers, and conflicts with teachers. Unfortunately, few parents are able to understand their child and unravel the tangle of his problems.
3. Pregnant women
The body of a woman carrying a child is subject to enormous hormonal metamorphoses. This is where the threat of nervous tension and increased irritability is so great. First, the woman is plagued by bouts of nausea. Later she begins to suffer from rapid fatigue and excessive sensitivity. All this requires others to have an extremely patient and caring attitude towards the expectant mother.
Features in children, adolescents, pregnant women
A nervous breakdown is especially dangerous for children and adolescents. An unformed psyche has difficulty accepting the burden of life’s difficulties. The little man has difficulty getting out of a difficult emotional situation, which is very rarely possible without the help of adults.
Children aged 3 years and older are susceptible to nervous breakdowns. The cause of the disease can be anything, from a minor (seemingly) quarrel between loved ones to a banal move. For this condition to occur, a few minor factors are sufficient.
Signs of a nervous breakdown in children and adolescents:
- Severe excitability and nervousness.
- Whims for any reason.
- Decreased performance and inattention.
- Tearfulness and touchiness.
- Decreased academic performance in school-aged children.
- Closedness and secrecy.
- Reluctance to communicate with peers.
- Rudeness and indifference towards parents.
Important! The way a child perceives different situations and life’s difficulties depends very much on the parents. Often for children and adolescents, it is the presence of psychological problems in the family and among parents that becomes an important factor and impetus for the emergence of a state of emotional exhaustion.
Pregnant women are more susceptible to constant stress than anyone else. It all starts with hormonal changes in the body.
If the expectant mother does not have comfortable conditions for bearing a pregnancy, but has problems associated with the father of the child, a negative attitude towards pregnancy from her own or others, financial difficulties, problems with bearing a child, in fact, there are countless factors that can ruin the life of the expectant mother.
At the same time, stress can have an extremely negative impact on both the health of pregnant women and the course of pregnancy.
Consequences of a nervous breakdown during pregnancy:
- Increased toxicosis and edema subsequent to changes in hormonal levels.
- Hypertonicity can cause miscarriage or premature birth.
- Fetal hypoxia.
If the expectant mother is in a difficult life situation, she needs to control herself and treat difficult life situations more simply than she did before pregnancy, think about childbirth and upcoming motherhood, about her baby.
To escape from problems, it is best to acquire some interesting and relevant hobby: knitting, embroidery, weaving.
Gymnastics or yoga for pregnant women can be an excellent option, if any physical activity is not contraindicated.
In difficult situations when medication is required, you should definitely consult with an obstetrician-gynecologist, with whom the expectant mother is registered in the antenatal clinic.
How to prevent a nervous breakdown?
Being on the verge of a nervous breakdown, you need to try to cope with overstrain yourself: change your usual environment, treat yourself to new clothes, allow yourself to sleep, have fun, enjoy the beauty of nature, or even go on a trip - the best cure for the blues.
You can also use the recipes of our ancestors. Usually they calmed the nerves with a decoction of motherwort or a vodka infusion of valerian. However, they also had a more radical “cure” for mental imbalance: they suddenly dumped a bucket of spring water on a person’s head. Today's doctors have nothing against this method of returning a healthy spirit to a healthy body: cold water accelerates blood through the vessels, revitalizes all processes in the body.
When is specialist help needed?
If the help of loved ones does not bring improvement, the emotional state continues to deteriorate and interferes with basic existence.
If a person suffering from nervous exhaustion develops aggression towards himself or others, and also has thoughts of suicide, then it is no longer possible to do without the help of a specialist.
Which doctor should I contact if I have a nervous breakdown?
- Most often this is a psychotherapist or psychologist.
- In advanced cases, the help of a psychiatrist may be needed.
Methods of modern treatment of nervous breakdown:
1. Psychotherapeutic
A conversation with an experienced psychologist is a fairly effective way to overcome a patient’s mental problems and get rid of them. Sometimes they resort to the help of “heavy artillery” - hypnotherapy. If necessary, psychotherapists or psychiatrists are involved. You can get help from an experienced psychologist here.
2. Medication
In serious cases, the patient is prescribed neurotropic substances, antidepressants, amino acids, vitamins in combination with aromatherapy, massage and other stabilizing procedures.
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Panic
A panic attack is not the same as a nervous breakdown, but it is very similar symptoms that complement each other. Multiple panic attacks may lead to a diagnosis of panic disorder. Some people may only have one panic attack and it is not considered a diagnosable anxiety disorder. Symptoms of a panic attack include:
- Intense fear that something bad is about to happen;
- Fear of losing control or dying;
- Feeling detached;
- Tremor;
- Rapid heartbeat;
- chills or stomach pain;
- Nausea;
- Intermittent and short breathing;
- Tingling and numbness in the arms or legs;
- Headache;
- Chest pain.
Panic attacks happen suddenly and without warning. They are shorter than nervous breakdowns, and when they pass, they can leave the person feeling tired and stressed. While some people who have panic attacks may not be causing much stress in their lives, these attacks can be caused by a lot of stress, just like a nervous breakdown. Panic attacks are very frightening because of how sudden they are and cause a variety of physical symptoms.
