Nervous Breakdown is also termed as mental breakdown. There are many causes which contribute to the problem of nervous breakdown. But social isolation is regarded as one of the major causes of nervous breakdown. There may be several reasons behind social isolation. It hardly matters, as the damage caused by this factor is quite irreparable.
The following are the general signs and symptoms of a nervous breakdown. A person might experience some of them simultaneously or only one of them in an exaggerated form. The type of symptoms occurring varies from individual to individual depending upon their mental stability and past history of mental disorders.
Symptoms of Nervous Breakdown
1. Physically - A brain with excessive stress is the first indicator of a nervous breakdown. Feelings of lethargy, constant pains and aches, scratchy and inflamed skin, lowered body resistance are also signs of an imminent breakdown. Repeated sensations of vomiting and gastric problems like stomach cramps gastrointestinal ulcers, colitis and diarrhea over extended periods of time might be indicative of a nervous breakdown.
2. Hostile Behavior - This involves a person displaying excessive antisocial behavior like gambling, eve teasing, vandalism and alcoholism. In extreme cases a person might resort to overt usage of drugs which is quite a clear sign of nervous breakdowns although it is not a rule.
3. Amnesia - Constantly forgetting appointments and schedules, short term memory lapse, confusion over order of occurrence of past events describe amnesia which, left untreated may lead to frustration. Frustration may then take control over the sufferer leading to rage and outbursts.
4. Delirium - Individuals may show signs of delirium and visualize hallucinations and delusions. By hallucinations and delusions one means tasting, smelling, seeing, feeling and hearing things that do not exist in reality. They might also display narcissism which is a state of extreme self-adoration and vanity.
People on the verge of a nervous breakdown are known to have nightmares and become obsessed with terrors. Panic attacks, loss of self-esteem, sleepwalking, and morbid thought patterns are symptoms of nervous wrecks as well. Such people may also threaten to harm and destroy other people, or hurt oneself by committing suicide.
Overview One common aspect of these symptoms is an unexpected and abrupt dissolution of the human being's personality. This means moving away from a fixed functional routine towards a more chaotic and disruptive lifestyle. Other symptoms of a mental breakdown are irrepressible crying, low energy levels, cyclic perplexity, desolation, incapacity to think obviously, sleep interruption or insomnia, total lack of pleasure in mundane jobs and feeling of insignificance and sadness.
A person having a nervous breakdown may have been greatly depressed or anxious for a long period of time before the breakdown. In extreme cases of breakdown, people also lose their awareness of reality, which is also known as impaired reality testing.Day to day activities and chores are seen as impossible tasks by nervous wrecks.
The day to day pressures of life and an inclination towards the all or nothing' thinking, add up to a nervous breakdown. "Nervous breakdown" is a casual general public term with no medical text acknowledging it.
More precisely one should refer to the state of nervous breakdown as the 'Exhaustion Phas' of the General Adaption Syndrome. It is caused by extreme stress. This stress includes academic pressures, parental and institutional hassles, peer pressure, big purchases, changes in eating and sleeping cycles, relocation to different cities and even harsh climatic conditions.
General Adaption Syndrome The general adaption syndrome has three notable phases namely alarm, resistance, and exhaustion, when listed in order of their occurrence. The phases are restricted and synchronized by the adrenal glands, which are located right above the kidneys in humans.
The hormone adrenaline and noradrenaline are released by the inner side of the adrenal gland called adrenal medulla. Whenever any stressful situation arises it is these hormones that deal with it. Adrenal cortex, which is the outer side of the adrenal gland, produces hormones like glucocorticoids and mineralcorticoids. These hormones help the body cope with periods of extended stress.
Onset of the Breakdown The body can deal with stress only up to a threshold beyond which a person will reach the exhaustion stage of the general adaptation syndrome. At this stage, glucocorticoids levels have been depleted and are no longer replenished by the adrenal cortex.
As a consequence, no extra nutrients and sugar reach the body cells in need of it. A further mineral imbalance occurs when excess amounts of potassium are released in the blood stream. This imbalance heavily increases the load on the brain, blood vessels, heart and other body parts.
Consequences of the breakdown In overtly stressful situations either the whole body or a specific organ may collapse. Stress has also been found to be related to depression, cancer, PMS, menstrual problems, autoimmune diseases, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, ulcers and arthritis. Dissolution of personality albeit provisional may occur and is described in layman's language as snapping.
People experiencing a nervous breakdown also cry unmanageably and lose interest and pleasure in all day to day chores. They may also gain or lose weight drastically. The patients experience horrible confusion, stupefaction and intense thoughts of insignificance, culpability and desolation.
Article Source :
has sinced written about articles on various topics from . . 's top article . to your Favourites.