what is a nervous breakdown? what are the signs?

Question

Curious...I always hear people say, "that person had a nervous breakdown." what is a nervous breakdown?

Answer 1

A nervous breakdown is really a misnomer for an underlying mental illness. People with mental disorders have "episodes" that are precipitated by some crisis or stressful situation, hence the expression, "nervous breakdown".
The signs take on different forms sometimes only a doctor of psychiatry can recognize but one is an inability to cope.

When people talk about a nervous breakdown in everyday conversation, they usually mean an emotional or mental crisis that's so severe the affected person is incapacitated or ends up in the hospital. The person usually is unable to cope with his or her daily routine. This can be caused by acute anxiety, paranoia, depression, or other disorders. A person suffering a nervous breakdown may be experiencing more than one disorder at a time.

Answer 2

A nervous breakdown is when a person is on overload and can't handle anything else. Constant crying, self worth disappears, and the person is in a state of hopelessness. It is actually not a medical term.....I think it is just referred to as severe depression. It is a tough thing for people to deal with and is very hard on their loved ones as well. Sometimes people can even become dispondent when they are having a breakdown. It depends on the severity.