15 Signs Of A Nervous Breakdown That Should Not Be Avoided

We all experience a nervous breakdown once in a while. While few of us identify it and deal with it effectively many fail to identify it. If these signs are left unidentified the chances of a nervous breakdown taking a form of a mental health issue increase. So, to take care of your physical health it is important to be cautious of these signs and deal with your nervous breakdown healthily.

What Exactly Is A Nervous Breakdown?

A period of intense mental distress that starts interfering in your daily life functioning is known as a nervous breakdown. This distress causes disturbances in our physical and emotional health. The reason why it is a matter of concern is that it can result in various mental health issues.

You can also understand it with the help of this analogy. We all have seen a pressure cooker! Just like that when the pressure in our life increases the whistle blows, and this is exactly what nervous breakdown makes us experience.

Causes of Nervous Breakdown

Before we look at the signs let us see what causes nervous breakdown and check whether they exist in your immediate circle.

• A recent traumatic event in life (such as losing a close one).
• A major life change (such as a change in job, or divorce).
• Persistent work stress.
• Sleepless and restless days.
• Having a chronic medical condition.
• Severe social conflict.
• Any external pressure or too many responsibilities.

If one of a few of these causes are there for a couple of weeks now and it might give rise to a nervous breakdown.

Now let us identify the common signs of a nervous breakdown.

15 Signs of Nervous Breakdown:

Different people experience different signs of nervous breakdown depending on the cause of it and its intensity. However, by and large, these are the most common signs of a nervous breakdown. For better understanding, this section is divided under two heads viz., physical and psychological signs.

Psychological Signs

The mental manifestation of nervous breakdown can be seen in the following ways:

1. Brain Fog

You might face difficulty in focusing on a task. You might also face difficulty in thinking clearly. Engle says, inability to concentrate is a major sign of nervous breakdown. Because the stress persists the signs of memory loss can be easily witnessed.

2. Mood Swings

The moods do not remain stable, they keep on changing. At some time of the day, you might feel sad and in other instances, you may have uncontrollable anger outbursts or crying outbursts. Basically, the feeling of being overwhelmed with the life situation persists.

3. Feelings of Depression & Anxiety

Depression and anxiety are both causes and signs of a nervous breakdown. You may feel worried, saddened, and experience other signs associated with it.

4. Social Isolation

You become a cocoon who doesn’t want to come out of your cover. As a result of this, you might also stop going out and interacting with others. You also stop putting efforts in initiating conversations. Often instances of avoiding pleasurable activities are also witnessed.

5. Decreased Self-Care

You might feel so drained that you stop taking good care of yourself. It might first begin by skipping on basic hygiene practices like brushing your teeth, showering, or dressing up. The basic reason underlying this negligence can be a lack of motivation to invest efforts in yourself.

6. Increased Substance Use

To find an escape from the ongoing stress in life you might engage yourself in unhelpful habits. This includes increased intake of caffeine, alcohol, drugs, and stimulants. They might provide short-term relief but, they end up causing more harm than the good.

7. Feeling Numb

The experience of nervous breakdown often brings along a feeling of numbness with it. You may not respond to a stimulus for a while.

8. Inflicting Self-Harm

This all might become too overwhelming to deal with it as a result of which the thoughts of inflicting self-harm might start bubbling up in your head.

Note: If this sign is there seeking help on an immediate basis is advised.

Physical Signs

The mental manifestation of nervous breakdown can be seen in the following ways:

1. Bodily Pain:

You might experience aches and pains in your body. The complaints of headaches and stomaches are quite common in people who are experiencing a nervous breakdown.

2. Disturbed Sleeping Pattern:

You might notice a sudden change in your sleeping pattern. You might find yourself sleeping more than usual or you might have entered into the ‘no sleep’ phase. Either situation is a warning sign and has other ill impacts following.

3. Heart Racing

While you are sitting and working on a task, you might suddenly feel your heart pounding and racing. This should be immediately taken care of before it takes a form of a panic attack.

4. Palpitation

Hot and cold flushes are also a sign of nervous breakdown. Due to this, you might have clammy hands. Often this is followed with trembling of hands and legs.

5. Change in Eating Pattern

Just like there is a change in your eating habits you may also witness a change in your eating pattern. You might feel hungry almost all the time or experience loss of appetite. This might also result in abdominal pain

6. Fatigue

With all this mess going on inside and outside of your body you might also feel exhausted without much physical exertion. Your body might feel drained of its resources giving a signal of fatigue and little or no energy.

7. Trouble Breathing

The nervous breakdown also brings a shift in our breathing. From deep and slow breaths you might find yourself taking quick and shallow breaths. This trouble in breathing can further ramp up the body’s stress response even more. Quickly working on deep breathing is the best way to feel in control at these moments.

Nervous Breakdown Cure

Hey, don’t be disheartened or dive into the worry pool if you could identify with most of these signs. Remember there is a cure for everything! You too can deal with nervous breakdown easily. Some of the best cures to curb these signs of a nervous breakdown are:

1. Have a healthy diet plan. The food you eat has a big impact on how you feel.
2. Develop a sleep schedule and stick by it.
3. Bring healthy lifestyle changes. Include exercise, yoga, and meditation in your life that will cut down the stress level.
4. Take a walk in nature and just enjoy the moment.
5. Talk to your friends and family members about your overwhelming feelings.
6. Take good care of yourself. Practicing self-care is important.
7. Avoid using caffeine and other stimulants.
8. Work on your stress management and coping techniques.
9. If the signs persist and go beyond what you can handle seeking help from a mental health professional is definitely recommended.

PS: Don’t forget to love yourself!

Be aware of these signs of a nervous breakdown in your life and of those whom you love. Remember awareness is towards the nervous breakdown cure.

If you need someone to hear it all for you, Calm Sage is all ears. Just drop an email to info@calmsage.com or DM us on our social media platforms. We are always here for you…

Sending good vibes to you…