is there really such a thing as a nervous breakdown or is it that the affected person is severely depressed?

Answer 1

Yeah there is such a thing. It is caused by an overflow of high stress.

Answer 2

It depends what you mean by a breakdown. There are lots of different types with different causes. It's a bit like asking if there's such a thing as illness. The answer is yes.

Prolonged & severe stress can cause a breakdown, usually resulting in depression. What happens is that the synapse chemicals in the brain get exhausted & until they have replenished, both mood and function are depressed. This is usually only temporary.

Attempting to continue in a stressful situation without allowing the brain to recover after an initial stress breakdown can cause permanent damage.

Breakdowns can be caused by things other than depression. Do you know what has caused the depression in the first place?

For example, trauma can cause breakdown. People suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder usually vividly & uncontrollably re-experience the episode that caused the damage, or subsequent similar incidents. In some cases all that is noticeable is that the person remains stressed even after the cause of the stress has been removed.

Breakdowns can also result from underlying problems, for example families of schizophrenics are more likely also to suffer schizophrenia than the general population & sometimes schizophrenia is referred to as a breakdown. Manic depression can be genetically inherited.

Then, there are breakdowns induced by what might go into your body. Abuse of drugs can cause breakdowns, as can diet. For example giving wheat to someone who suffers a wheat allergy can have similar effects to them taking LSD. Certain food additives like yellow food colourings can cause problems such as ADHD (though ADHD in children is more likely to cause their parents a breakdown!). The list is endless.

Both breakdown & depression are such general terms that it's impossible to be more accurate than that without a consultattion of at least an hour's duration. I'd suggest consulting a doctor in the first instance & take it from there. However, please remember that doctors are usually trained to treat bodies rather than minds, so the chances of an accurate initial diagnosis without referral to a specialist are pretty remote. Even specialists are wrong a lot of the time too, so you'd be as well combining any doctor's word with research of your own. Have a look at the mental health section of your local library, or the mind section of your local bookshop.

Answer 3

Nervous breakdown is a term that the public uses to characterize a range of mental illnesses. It's not a medical term, and it doesn't indicate a specific mental illness. Generally, it describes a person who is severely and persistently emotionally distraught and unable to function at his or her normal level.

Often, when people refer to having a nervous breakdown, they're describing severe depression. Signs and symptoms of severe depression include:

Agitation or restlessness
Difficulty or inability to stop crying
Sleeping difficulties
Indecision


The causes of mental illness usually aren't clear. But these factors may play a role:

Stress
Drug and alcohol use
Co-existing medical conditions, such as thyroid disorders and certain vitamin deficiencies
Genetics

Answer 4

To be clinicall depressed you must be in a severe state of melancholy, it does not have to be STRESS related, it can just appear but is usually brought on by an external source.i.e. circumstances or events in your life. A nervous breakdown CAN be due to extreme stress as well as having the deep sense of depression not treated or resolved. The significant thing about a breakdown is that the person usually becomes disengaged with normal life and is unable to continue in their daily duties. This can take many forms. If you are asking for yourself or a friend, either form can be treated effectively either with medication ar therapies which will bring the person safely back to reality. I hope all goes well for you.x

Answer 5

A 'nervous breakdown' is simply a way of a medical professional explaining a sudden (acute) change in a patient's mental condition. It would NOT be considered an official diagnosis.

It may be brought on by some change in circumstances to a depressed person's life, as it can with anxiety states, but being depressed, in itself, doesn't necessarily lead to a 'mental breakdown'. Many people who suffer with depression are successfully treated with either medication, psychotherapy, counselling, or a combination of therapies.

The term 'breakdown' only arises when someone's condition leaves them unable to function. Psychiatrists might refer to this as a brief reactive psychosis.

Answer 6

Depression is a gradual insidious thing, while a breakdown is where a person under stress basically "crashes and burns"...they collapse and it appears sudden, both to the sufferer and to those around them because they have not known how to interpret or relieve the growing stress but have just tried to keep going. It tends to happen more these days to people who grow up with "medical advice" of the kind that says: Snap out of it, soldier.
It happened to me and it is most unpleasant. I was told during the buildup that I was just seeking attention, and I should just stop it! Then one day the bottom dropped out of my life when the stress reached critical mass. More than a breakdown I call it meltdown.

Answer 7

Yes there is such a thing as a nervous breakdown and i can tell you it not nice. Believe me i have been there and yes depression is a big part of it, But the good news is that you can get over it
but this can take such a long time.
I hope this helps and remember Jesus love you

Answer 8

Yes nervous breakdown is real, I do think the sufferer is usually severely depressed at the time tho.

Answer 9

Depression does not lead to nervous breakdowns. However, depression does not do good to any person. Too much of depression lead to too much of thinking which in turn affects the digestive system and in some cases it could cause kidney probem. Some time the person who is under depression will not be able to smoothly do his morning chores and may have to take laxative tablets.

So depression does not do good to any one. To forget depressions it is clinically advised to resort to diverting the attention and thinking and enjoy music and dance etc.

Answer 10

A mental breakfown will see someone using very different coping mechanisms than would a regular member of the public. These will often include Regression (where one becomes child like), Dissociation (separating yourself from parts of your life) and Fantasy (yes, well, explains itself).

I think the key to the suddenness of the episode is the chain reaction that is caused by the loss of control of one's feelings. We become very adept at using mechanisms like Denial and Projection to cover or avoid our problems. Although we're very aware that there's a tiger prowling round our minds, we avoid it by using these defense mechanisms. At the point that some trigger causes one of these mechanisms to fail, the fear and panic caused by the failure of this mechnism reduces our ability to keep all our other defences going, and a whole host of fears are suddenly released; much like an inmate escaping and press the "door release". Everyone from the mass murderer to the unpaid parking ticket felon is released, and in the chaos all seem equally threatening. The key to returning to some sort of control is to be able to untangle these diverse fears, recognise and resolve the - recaging them.

Everyone avoids painful emotion when they can, we all repress and avoid and project to some extent. But it's useful to recognise when you're starting to spend more time working on these defenses than you should. It's like spinning plates. Take the time to remove a few by talking them out with people and dealing with them...