Nervous breakdown signs and symptoms

Symptoms of a nervous breakdown

The symptoms of your 'nervous breakdown' are a sign that you have reached your limit! 

There is a limit to us all.  I am going to help you make sense of what is happening to you and, above all - reassure you.  You may feel you are 'going mad' right now, but you will recover.

signs and symptoms of a nervous breakdown

A nervous breakdown may have started with these symptoms over time:

• irregular heart beat
• tensed/painful muscles
• clammy hands, sweating
• dizziness/light-headedness
• trembling/shaking
• irritability and angry outbursts
• upset stomach
• crying easily and seemingly endlessly at the drop of a hat - male or female!  No need to be embarrassed.
• panic, fears and phobias

What may have led up to your mental breakdown

These signs and symptoms of stress probably slipped in by stealth, became worse and now feel completely out of control and a shadow of your 'normal' self.

You may have know that you were pushing the limits.  Maybe you felt that you had no choice, but to continue with whatever caused you so much stress.

Perhaps several traumatic events happened in a short time.  Did you actually have any time to come to terms with them?

A 'complete nervous breakdown’?

Now everything feels too much - the telephone ringing, post dropping through the letterbox, excited children, crowds, all appear to increase your symptoms, and you just want to run away, hide or explode with anger.

Other symptoms are:

• feeling ‘hyper-alert’
• worrying about the smallest things
• suffering from the effects of lack of sleep
• feeling exhausted and crying ‘at the drop of a hat’
• worrying about the effect on people around you
  
• feeling guilty because you are such lousy company!

Panic attack symptoms

A panic attack, in addition to the above symptoms, causes:

• a pounding heart, chest pain - you may well worry about having an heart attack
  
• difficulty with breathing
• feelings of unreality
• a sense of detachment from yourself
• fear of losing control or going crazy
• fear of dying

We really want to prevent you becoming fearful of the panic attacks.  That would meant that you are adding yet another layer to your suffering.  You can really do without that right now!

Telling your doctor about your symptoms?

It makes sense to have a check-up by your doctor if only to exclude a medical condition. 

Although nervous breakdown signs/symptoms can be very frightening indeed, it is unlikely that there is anything more serious going on than your just 'having had enough'.

You can see from all the above, that we know about those symptoms - you are not alone and you are not 'off your rocker'!

Panic attacks are very common and can be treated, often very quickly.  A nervous breakdown won’t last either.

A note of warning

The US Food and Drug Administration has warned that certain behaviours are known to be associated with SSRI’s including the following symptoms: anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, impulsivity, severe restlessness.

What causes a nervous breakdown?

Anxiety, depression and panic attacks start for a variety of reasons:

• triggered by a traumatic event
• several stressful events close together
• reduced ‘spare capacity’ - completely running out of resources
• a stressful event in the context of high levels of existing stress
• nutritional deficiencies (particularly B vitamins)
• symptoms maybe linked with depression

There is more to life than increasing its speed" Mahatma Gandhi

How to stop panic/anxiety attacks

Anxiety is such a debilitating condition, and medication is definitely not a long-term solution.

If you want to stop the panic attack as soon as possible, why not try this very interesting programme?

In my practice

I often see people who are very worried that they are going ’mad’.  They may be frightened that they will never feel ‘normal’ again.

Nervous breakdown symptoms and crying in fact are temporary.  Often their body/mind’s reaction is entirely normal under for them abnormal circumstances.

I know that they and you will recover!

Are you worried you are going ‘mad’?

Thoughts maybe going round and round your mind, without your being able to get a grip on them.  Perhaps too many things have come at you together.  You have become too emotional to be able to really process what is going on.

When you are trying to figure one thing out, everything else comes flooding in.  You may find it almost impossible to concentrate.  You will recover!

Once you accept that it won’t happen overnight and you stop fighting it, you can begin to look for solutions, including considering counselling.

Return from Symptoms of a Nervous Breakdown to Home at Mind and Relationship Matters

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You may also be interested in:

Stress and your relationship
Natural sleep remedies
Depressed or sad?
PTSD symptoms

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