You do not have to be rich to have a breakdown

I think it happens to poorer people more often because they can’t afford to seek intervention earlier on before they reach crisis. Someone with financial security could pay for a counsellor that a poorer person needs to wait for an NHS referral for a crappy 6 sessions. The wealthy can continue that therapy as needed. A poor individual cannot take the time off necessary to recover from burn out because their sick pay is only a few weeks. The wealthy don’t have to worry about the financial implications of taking the time to recover at an earlier stage.

this is applicable to both mental and physical health in the lower paid and less financially secure. Wealth gives you access to support that lower classes can only dream of

Please could you tell us what is included in a mental collapse?

I have worked as a consultant psychiatrist for over 25y. I have never once used the term ‘breakdown’ as it’s a lay and non-clinical term. People use it to describe their version of a mental health collapse. Whatever they want to describe it as is fine by me of course.

Mental Breakdown is not a proper medical term: it’s a layman’s term for all sorts of things and is best avoided as it’s so vague.

I've never heard that but it does upset me when people say how bad their breakdown/anxiety/depression is but they "just have to get on with it." Imo and my experience, when it's that bad you really can't just keep going. The body breaks and you stop functioning as you were.

I get exactly what you are saying. People on this forum say things like "I can't afford a breakdown" either. The thing is, it can get to a point and you just can't go on. You might lose your home, your children, everything.

Sounds like a breakdown to me. I hope your friend can access help sooner rather than later. 💐.

I get that you would tell friends to seek help early. But that's if the friend says something in the first place. In mycase if I was struggling of what ever level there's not a hope in hell of me telling anyone.

Your full breakdown is personal to you. You couldn't mask any longer that's your experience. That doesn't mean its others peoples experience.

With the hospital where somone is in hospital due to a breakdown. Doesn't mean the person not in hospital is not unwell enough. NHS is stretched . It also depends on the mental health team/doctors ect. You could have one professional that says the person need to be in hospital. Another professional can say they don't .
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I know someone with sycosis. She's hearing voices. She's doing lots if things that are dangerous. Theres voices telling her to hurt het adult child who's pregnant and she's had to come and stay at my house to be safe. A few days back an ambulance was called. They managed to persuade her to go to hospital. In the ambulance she was smacking herself punching herself in the head and stomach ahd screaming shouting things like stop shaking me when no one was.

In the mental health assessment she was telling people to stop hurting her when no one was near her. Yet she passed the mental health assessment with flying colours and was sent home.

I know that's not depression /breakdown but I'm just trying to point out the people who clearly need mental health help don't always get it.

To those people who’re saying they’re severely mentally ill and just ‘powered through’, etc, I hope you realise it comes across as saying those of us who couldn’t ’power through’ just weren’t trying hard enough.

I heard this nonsense on a mumsnet thread recently.

I’ve never heard of this at all. My mum is very much working class and has been sectioned multiple times, I’ve visited her in the units she has stayed in and 95% of the people were the same.

I’ve never heard of this at all. My mum is very much working class and has been sectioned multiple times, I’ve visited her in the units she has stayed in and 95% of the people were the same.

I would suggest maybe the rich don't need to reach crisis point? As others have said in the thread they can afford a break away from the mundane, are likely to have fewer worries about job security so feel more able to utilise sick leave (or even work in jobs where there is a decent sick leave policy), have savings as a back up. They are more likely to have a strong support network and can pay privately (waiting lists for metal health on the NHS are never ending). This means they are perhaps more likely to have early intervention and it to be covered up before they reach breaking point.

Though money alone will never cure you it can cushion the blow. I had what I would call a total breakdown when my DD died. I was totally fine one minute and then DD dying caused a MH crisis. It wasn’t a slow and steady decline.We paid for help immediately. I had longer therapy that was free but initially I paid to see someone weekly at £60 PH. I also ended up retiring at 54 so I could concentrate on my younger child, we retained the same standard of living

I agree with most of your posts on this thread it seens to me op is only seeing things through their own lense. You, me and others are sharing their experiences or things they know and op seens to be saying no that couldn't have happend or then it wasn't a break down. There's an assumption if a person was that unwell they would seek help. Some people don't even know how unwell they are. Some people can't think straight or logically there for may not seek help.

I also believe people can mask for a long time or simply no one knows. I didn't even have a gp for over 3 years. At one point my children were of school for a while. There was a welfare check from the school all that happend was dd waved out of the window and I got threatened with a fine. Apart from my children I can go weeks without talking to anyone. So no one would know what was going on for me mentally.

Also I mentioned earlier that I would be scared my children could be taken away. Someone else said something similar. And op said that if the person seeks help sooner that less likely to happen. But if the person has that fear then some will be scared to seek help early. Yes it makes sense to seek help early in a logic way. But not everyone is logic when they are struggling mentally. And some are just to scared.

Anyway I believe everyone's experience of mental health is different its not black and white.

There is a lot of meaning behind the statement, but I don’t think the intention matches your interpretation.

First of all, not everyone is going to define breakdown as a complete breakdown. That may be accurate, but in common language, the term is used more broadly.

Second, it is very much true that someone with resources can see signs of mental health issues and do things to address them early. Someone with fewer resources is often forced to keep going while their health continues to deteriorate.

So in some ways it is a statement that wealthy people are weak. In others, it is an accurate statement of the reality that people with resources have the ability to address mental health problems at a much earlier stage.

No one in true crisis can keep going. The point of the statement is that the wealthy can pause and address the issue before the crisis happens.