Remember when people had "nervous breakdowns"?

Question

What exactly what were they talking about back then? I realize today it's a meaningless term but was there a common symptom then?

I think I might have had one years ago without realizing it.

Answer 1

The term nervous breakdowns is still used today. However, it is less common. It means that an individual perceives him or herself to be totally without self-esteem, self-regard, low energy, zapped of life, depressed or manic, and a full collapse of mental functioning due to deep felt hurt and pain. The term nervous breakdown was coined to describe a short-circuiting or shutdown of mental and emotional responsiveness.

Answer 2

Nervous breakdowns is just a word used more often in the past but it is still being used sometimes. It simply is Depression, ranging from mild - severe.

Answer 3

Such things keep changing names as psychology textbooks are updated and fashions change. Remember, what used to be known as "shell shock" in 1917 is now known as "post traumatic stress disorder". "Nervous breakdown" was never anything more than an umbrella term, designed to cover any number of adverse reactions to an ongoing stressful situation. In a nutshell, what they were talking about was clinical depression.

Answer 4

Generally it was alot of stress, anxiety attacks and emotional overload. People just ' broke down' under all the pressure.

Answer 5

i don't think it's meaningless today...i still hear it a lot and hear about people having them. i think it's when your amount of stress gets so high that you just stop trying and go hide under something...lol.

Answer 6

people still have nervous breakdowns, it's when everything becomes too much too handle