Is there a modern medical term for a "nervous breakdown"?

Question

Seems like years ago you would hear of people having nervous breakdowns and going to mental hospitals, seems like today people just have "functioning" nervous breakdowns and nobody thinks anything. Back then it was hush hush and you would walk on egg shells not knowing what to say after that. Is it better today or was it better then, were the people any sicker than they are today.

Answer 1

when I was a young child, my dad had a "nervous breakdown"
and had to go to the hospital. I was not allowed to visit him there, but he carved some really cool-looking mallard ducks out of wood while he was away. When he came home he asked lots of weird questions and made me feel oogy.

I later found out he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Answer 2

Medical Term Breakdown

Answer 3

Mental breakdown (also known as nervous breakdown) is a non-medical term used to describe a sudden, acute attack of mental illness such as depression or anxiety. When used in common social discourse, the term often has pejorative connotations.

Specific cases are usually described as a "breakdown" only after a person becomes unable to function in day-to-day life due to mental illness. At that point the person's condition is advanced, and seeking professional aid is likely advisable.

Like the term “sanity,” the terms "nervous breakdown" or "mental breakdown" have no medical definition and are not used in a clinical sense. However, the medical or personal problems precipitating a sudden breakdown may well benefit from professional medical or psychological treatment.

A mental breakdown is not the same as a panic attack, though mental breakdowns can trigger panic.

Answer 4

Mental breakdown (also known as nervous breakdown) is a non-medical term used to describe a sudden, acute attack of mental illness such as depression or anxiety. When used in common social discourse, the term often has pejorative connotations.

Specific cases are usually described as a "breakdown" only after a person becomes unable to function in day-to-day life due to mental illness. At that point the person's condition is advanced, and seeking professional aid is likely advisable.

Like the term “sanity,” the terms "nervous breakdown" or "mental breakdown" have no medical definition and are not used in a clinical sense. However, the medical or personal problems precipitating a sudden breakdown may well benefit from professional medical or psychological treatment.

A mental breakdown is not the same as a panic attack, though mental breakdowns can trigger panic.

Answer 5

there is not now nor has there ever been a nervous break down . as far as mental health goes.
this is a term used by lay people to say the person has or is suffering from some form of mental illness.
stress is greator now then in the past. we work longer hours then people in the 1800's this is a fact.
there are not really more people who are ill with some mental illness but there is a greator number of people who are treated for some form of mental illness this is due to the fact that we have more stress and the medical community is better able to identify an illness instead of sending the person on there way with two asprin.

Answer 6

Yes, it it called a psychotic snap or a psychotic episode. They do still occur today; however, advances have been made in treatment and medications. I don't think people were any sicker then, but the treatment and knowledge were limited. Also during the "old days" a lot of medications were misused that actually made conditions worse. For instance, cocaine was actually used to treat depression and morphine was used to treat a cold. So hopefully we are in better hands today.

Answer 7

People have different levels of mental illness. From depressed to schizophrenic. Some people are still hospitalize or in group home settings, and others are out patient treatments. I think the "hush hush" comes from a lack of understanding of the illness, and how to treat someone who has a mental illness. there is alot of stigma reguarding it. I think we've improved as a society reguarding people who are ill. I work with people who have schizophrenia, and our goal is to work them back into society and to have as normal of a life as possible, its not always possible for everyone, but for alot of people medication and treatment does help. What people need to know about someone with an illness, is that they arn't stupid, that you don't have to talk to them like they are a child, and that they want just as badly to fit in as anyone else does.
When you meet someone who has some "un-common" thoughts usually a person just thinks "oh they're kind of weird or funny" but when you find out they have a label of something then people start to focus on the label and forget about the person. My personal opinion is that we need to learn to only use the label for treatment in the illness, and otherwise put the person first. They still deserve to be treated like anyone else, with respect and dignity.

Answer 8

I think the change is because of society's new views of mental problems. In the past, mental illness wasn't accepted or promoted. People would try their best to "hold it together" for as long as they could. They wouldn't go to a Dr. and get a prescription for antidepressants or anxiety or whatever. Then, finally, they would just "snap." Then they'd finally get some help and they would have a suprised and helpful support system available to help them get through it.

Nowadays, mental illness is a trend. People aren't nearly as ashamed about it and sometimes will even go out of their way to get diagnosed with bipolar, or OCD, or whatever. They start getting attention and treatment for it right away, so they don't "snap," but their support system isn't as available because they've been hearing the person talking about their problems for a long time and know what's going on.

I personally think it's worse today. People with mild mental illness (or just attention-seeking behavior) get the same diagnoses as people with severe mental illness, so there are lots of them out there and people aren't generally as supportive for the truly mentally ill as they used to be.