To think the term mental 'breakdown' is outdated?

[AtSea1979]

And frankly insulting? To those who suffer from a mental health condition/illness?

[livewyre]

"Heart failure"

"Respiratory failure"

"Renal failure"

Would you prefer "Mental failure"?

Quite frankly, I'd prefer breakdown- like a car breakdown, it sounds fixable! And 'breaking down' is certainly what some minds appear to do.

But then, I don't like failure. So I feel quite upset when someone tells me I have one/any of the above!

[AtSea1979]

I alway don't like 'failure' either but that's a whole other subject!

Thank you for all the posts, it's so kind of you to share such personal stories to help me get my head round my current situation. I'm very upset and scared at the minute about the implications of this report.

[VoldysGoneMouldy]

I had a break down. I'm okay with it. I don't find it insulting, and really it was a comfort when my psychiatrist agreed with me that was what had happened.

However if you don't feel it is accurate in your situation then by all means challenge it, but make sure you are challenging factually rather than emotionally.

[fassbendersmistress]

I had a breakdown. I tend to talk about when I was unwell, but honestly, breakdown is the best way to describe what I went through. I was treated alongside others who had various extremes of mental health problems, but certainly not everyone suffering was generally described as having had a breakdown. That seemed to be reserved for those completely and utterly overwhelmed by their illness.

[Winterbiscuit]

www.themix.org.uk/mental-health/stress-mental-health/nervous-breakdowns-5603.html

"You may hear the term ‘nervous breakdown’ used all the time. We use it to describe all sorts of situations, from someone who’s hit rock bottom and feels they can’t go on anymore, to just being really stressed out and feeling on the edge.

Yet, medically, ‘nervous breakdowns’ don’t exist. If you go to the doctor or a mental health professional about how you’re feeling, they won’t use the word. They are more likely to use terms such as having a ‘mental health crisis’ or ‘reaching crisis point’."

www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2015/aug/27/depresssion-doctor-nhs-made-me-doubt-patients-depression

"I was 23-years old when I qualified as a doctor, and 26 when I had a nervous breakdown.

The terminology is archaic; nowadays it would be labelled a major depressive episode, but it feels like an appropriate description. This was more than feeling low in mood – I had my backbone torn out from me, and no longer recognised the person I’d become."

[sykadelic]

I had an emotional breakdown in 2003 while at university (and this is how I describe it). It took months to get to a point where I could think and plan (I had to be very structured, had a diary I 100% relied on and if I lost it I would have been lost). It took a couple more years to feel less fragile (I functioned, I just felt like I had to protect myself and my "sanity" a bit more than I would have otherwise thought about it).

I can tell you that I needed help during those first few months. I wasn't allowed to drive (I couldn't focus enough), and I basically slept a lot and did things that didn't require a lot of thought/planning. It was only myself and I think I would have been in a much worse position if I had kids to worry about.

[BeautyGoesToBenidorm]

a relapse in their mental health

That term is utterly nonsensical.

[Inkanta]

Yes I understand what you mean OP - it is an old fashioned term that seems to stem from the 1960s era. My mum and grandparents used 'nervous breakdown' to incorporate all mental illness.

These days I think we are more specific and refer to anxiety or depression based symptoms, though it is true that being overwhelmed by such symptoms causes a breakdown and inability to cope or function. Maybe the term 'not coping' is used more these days rather than breakdown.

[Buckinbronco]

I thought it was outdated. My H has a breakdown 5 years ago and it was referred to as nervous exhaustion by professionals

[heron98]

I don't think it's outdated. I would say it describes a rather sudden and dramatic collapse in mental health rather than depression as such.

[ProudAS]

I've had more than my fair share of mental health problems and don't have a problem with the term.

I've had bad bouts of depression but would say a mental breakdown is a bit more than that.

[TowerRavenSeven]

I haven't heard the phrase 'nervous breakdown' for a while, I thought it was replaced by psychotic break.

[AliceScarlett]

I hate it, so outdated, if you have an asthma attack and have a week in bed or whatever you have not had a 'lung breakdown'.

I have absolutely no idea what it means and I don't think applying catch-all sweeping statements to complex problems is helpful or wise. Yanbu.

[Brekekekex]

I think it depends on context. A close relative was sectioned for weeks due to an acute exacerbation of their MH condition. When people asked after them I often chose to use the word 'breakdown' as it conveyed the sense of what was happening without going into detail about the nature of it, which I wasn't in any state to discuss and would have felt like a violation of their privacy in any case.

[PurpleDaisies]

I haven't heard the phrase 'nervous breakdown' for a while, I thought it was replaced by psychotic break.

A psychotic break is different-that's usually where a person starts hallucinating, having delusions or disturbing thoughts and might lose self awareness. A nervous breakdown might not involve psychosis-it could be a major depressive episode instead.

Op I think you're right to challenge you being labelled as having had a nervous breakdown. Generalised anxiety disorder is not the same. Who wrote the report?

Good luck with resolving the situation and don't be afraid to see your GP if you need help. That's the sign of being a good parent, not a bad or weak one.

[AlmaMartyr]

I had a breakdown and it was exactly how it felt. I just broke. It never feels like the most technical term though.

It certainly doesn't make you an unfit parent though. Sorry you're having such a tough time, hope you manage to get it sorted

[aprilanne]

my hubbys physciatrist told me off for calling it that apparently it is a mental crisis.call it what yo want as long as you are not nasty about anyone .to me his body and mind did breakdown but just as manic depression is now bipolar a mental breakdown is now a mental crisis ..

[BillSykesDog]

OP, seriously. If you want to convince someone that you are a good parent, the best thing you can do is concentrate on your parenting in the here and now, how it is good and how you are recovered.

I suffer from depression and anxiety and have been through the mill of being checked up on to make sure everything is okay. It's intrusive, unpleasant and embarrassing but unfortunately something that they have to do to make sure children are safe. A necessary evil from our point of view.

Sending a letter bickering and nit picking about terminology will work against you rather than help you.