How long does a mental breakdown last?

How long does a mental or nervous breakdown last?

Understandably, you want to know how long a mental breakdown lasts! Naturally, you wanted to have recovered from that nervous breakdown yesterday!

But how long your mental breakdown recovery will take depends on many factors, some of which you’ll have a measure of control, others not at all.

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How long does it takes to get over a nervous breakdown?

5 factors playing a role in how long it takes to recover from a mental breakdown:

1. How long that nervous breakdown has been building up.
2. How much time you can give yourself to rest.
3. What you do and don’t do to aid your recovery.
4. What ongoing stresses you’re experiencing from which you cannot escape.
5. Any underlying issues that may have led or contributed to your breakdown.

To expand your understanding, you may also want to read my articles:

• FAQ about a nervous breakdown, if you’re not entirely sure what a nervous or mental breakdown is.
• How to help your spouse recover from a breakdown.
• How to help someone having a breakdown if you’re here because you’re concerned about someone else.

How long does a nervous breakdown last?

11 factors that influence how long a nervous breakdown lasts

… and how long it takes to recover completely

The following factors may have caused or contributed to your meltdown.

Regarding your question:  “how long does it take to get over a nervous breakdown”, each of these factors influences when and how you’ll recover.

1. A sudden relationship crisis

– such as the disclosure of your partner’s infidelity (see my complete guide to surviving infidelity).

A relationship crisis is unlikely to disappear from one day until the next. It takes time to deal with that.

It can create a huge sense of insecurity and uncertainty, sapping much of your energy.

When you’re in a safer place, you will be in the right environment and mood to attend to your own pressing needs.

2. Separation and divorce

(see how to get through a breakup and how to get through a divorce).

A separation also takes a lot of energy, regardless of whether you’re the instigator.

You’ll need to attend to so many practical (and possibly legal) issues. Your partner may or may not be cooperative. How quickly you can put it behind you will depend to a large extent on their sense of urgency.

Your sense of security, so necessary for your recovery, will also depend on your financial situation and living arrangements following the breakup.

3. A traumatic event

(See also PTSD symptoms, How to cope with PTSD and How to live with someone with PTSD.)

When we’re traumatised as human beings, our body/mind can heal much of what has happened.

Still, it takes time, and sometimes, it needs the help of a professional if the symptoms don’t subside and disappear of their own accord.

Recovery, with or without help, also takes lots of energy. Even when the event didn’t cause any physical injuries, you’re likely to feel very tired.

That sense of exhaustion can be caused by a lack of sleep, excessive dreaming and your body/mind using extra energy to heal.

The duration of the time needed to recover from your nervous breakdown depends on whether you’re suffering from a single event trauma or multiple events.

It also matters whether or not you’re also experiencing other mental health problems.

4. A series of traumas

Life has a way of dealing with some nasty left-hookers one after another.

You’ve barely recovered from one (if you’re so lucky), and you find yourself reeling from the next, or you live in a war situation, for example. Or, you’ve never really recovered from previous trauma, no matter how long ago.

5. Multiple losses

Maybe you’ve lost several people close to you in a relatively short time. Perhaps you lost your business, for example, or suffered other significant losses experienced during a traumatic event.

Only recently, we’ve all suffered additional stresses on account of the pandemic with its lockdowns, quarantines and closures.

All those experiences can make your mental well-being on the brittle side, making it even more challenging to overcome your nervous breakdown.

All of these potentially make your recovery that more complicated.

However, please note that none will prevent you from getting better!

6. A drip-drip effect is finally taking its toll

This is not unusual in emergency service personnel or those who care for someone with a long-term illness.
Police and ambulance personnel are continually exposed to traumatic events. Mostly, they’re able to take those experiences in their stride. That is until, finally, they can’t take it any longer.

It doesn’t need to take something really dramatic that sends them over the edge. It can be a relatively minor incident that they no longer have the spare capacity to process.

7. Work-related stress

(See also How to cope with constant criticism at work)

Maybe stress at work was the cause of your breakdown in the first place.

The quality of support at work can significantly impact the speed of your recovery, either positively or negatively. Not getting appropriate support at and from work can delay your recovery.

If you find yourself constantly stressed at work, you may even have to consider getting another job – if at all possible.

However, I can imagine that the very thought of changing jobs right now makes you shudder for many reasons.

8. Not eating and sleeping enough!

Read what Doris Lessing discovered (opens in a new tab) when trying it out for herself.

You may not be able to relax at the moment, let alone sleep for long- or restfully enough.

However, if you’ve willfully neglected yourself – gaming, partying or working all night long, guess what?

No more wondering how long it takes to get over a nervous breakdown – you’ll have to make some changes.

See also my list of the best natural remedies for sleeplessness.

9. Domestic violence

Are you living in an unsafe environment and now suffering from a nervous breakdown? You’ll need help as soon as possible.

Please, hop over to my article on the signs of an abusive relationship or take my abusive relationship test.

10. Existing mental health issues

• Depression – see my depression quiz, symptoms of depression in men, alcoholism and depression
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Suffering from anxiety for ‘no reason’
• Suffering from social anxiety or other fears
• Addictions.

11. A combination of any of the above could have an impact on your mental breakdown recovery

That needs no further explanation now!

This list is by no means complete. There may well be other factors that have contributed to your breakdown. For example, a natural disaster, a war, a (mass) shooting or another personal crisis.

So, when you want to know how to recover from a mental breakdown and how long it takes to get over a mental breakdown, you can now see that the best answer is: “it depends”. All of the above takes time to heal.

How long it takes to get over a nervous breakdown

The stages of a mental breakdown recovery

Your question is:” How long does a mental breakdown last.” So, I’ll break it down into three stages for ease and clarity, but keep in mind that this is just to give you a general overview.

There are so many variables that it’s impossible to make a blanket statement about how long recovery from a nervous breakdown will take.

Stage 1 of your recovery from a mental breakdown

Your breakdown was probably caused by a crisis of some kind or even a minor incident you no longer had the capacity to cope with.

You succumbed to the pressure at some point (or immediately on account of a significant traumatic event) – your body/mind could no longer fight.

Maybe you had an emotional breakdown, you simply couldn’t get out of bed or off the sofa, or you didn’t make it to work because of a panic attack. (If you suffer from panic, I’m convinced you’d also want to know how to deal with an anxiety attack immediately!)

You might also have been going to your doctor because you’ve been feeling exhausted and have had a multitude of unexplained physical symptoms.

So how long does a nervous breakdown last?

The worst symptoms and feelings may start to subside within one to three months, depending on whether or not you’re experiencing continuing trauma.

Unfortunately, if you continue to be exposed to the same stresses, that will doubtless impede your recovery.

Stage 2

Then there comes a fairly long period of gradual overall recovery with lots of ups, downs and periods of stagnation.
You’ll find that you slowly begin to do things that you haven’t been able to look at for weeks or maybe months.

You can help yourself by being active in your recovery – read How to get over a nervous or mental breakdown for my 3-step plan.

I also recommend you get a hypnosis download to help you cope.

With a professional audio download, Self-hypnosis is a user-friendly, affordable and – above all – effective way to help you feel better fast.

Discover how it can work for you and which specific download would suit you most – see my page Hypnosis FAQ and Downloads.

Stage 3

(See also Why you’re anxious ‘for no reason’ and Why you’re stressed ‘for no reason’.)

After that, you’ll find you’re slowly returning to some sense of normality.

Don’t be surprised if, for some time, you remain somewhat vigilant for further symptoms of a nervous breakdown. Naturally, you’re anxious to avoid yet another period of such distress!

Know that after you’ve had such a difficult time, it’s normal and necessary to be on your guard for a while.

What might delay your recovery

How long a mental breakdown lasts depends on factors that potentially delay your recovery, such as:

• Being hard on yourself
• Lack of access to professional help
• Not being able to take it easy
• Fighting against the reality of your condition
• Lack of understanding and support at home
• Your partner or spouse having no idea how to support you
• Lack of support and consideration at work
• Lack of social support in general
• Poor general health
• Additional worries about job security and financial stability
• Medication – taking antidepressants and long-term use of anti-anxiety drugs, on account of their side effects and withdrawal symptoms. See my article How to get rid of depression for a list of side effects.
• Not getting any medication when the initial crisis doesn’t subside.

Your focus needs to be on the things you have control over. However challenging, try to stop yourself from worrying about what you have no hope of influencing. You’re already short of energy, so use what you have to aid your recovery.

Recovering from a nervous breakdown, how long does that take?

Here’s what speeds up your recovery from a nervous breakdown

You can do much to recover more quickly from a nervous or mental breakdown.

One of the best actions to take is to connect with an online counsellor.

Getting professional help for your breakdown, being active in your recovery in stage 2 and taking note of the following will stop it from lasting longer than it might otherwise.

You can also do the following:

• Not fighting against the reality of your condition, however challenging that is. Try to accept that it is what it is.
• Not giving yourself a hard time. That means not saying anything to yourself that would undermine you. Treat yourself as your very best friend.
• Not living your life at the same speed as you had been doing. Look out for opportunities to slow down a little, e.g. by meditating, doing something creative, or being outdoors in nature. Take active rest because sitting still is probably not going to work for you right now (unless you can actually sleep).

I’ve set out a 3-step treatment plan to help you recover from a nervous breakdown, so if you’re ready to get back in the driving seat, then hop over there now.

Finally

I’m sure you’ll understand now that mental breakdowns can last a long time and that recovery times vary hugely. 

One thing’s for sure: the quicker you start finding the support you need and helping yourself get better, the quicker your recovery will be.

My site is full of help and advice, so start exploring in your own time when your condition allows. You’ll learn more about how long it takes to recover from a nervous breakdown and how to look after yourself.

Know that I’m on your side. I know you can do this :-)