To ask how you (or someone you knew) recovered from a breakdown?

[ples]

Just that really. Asking as this is something I'm staring in the face. Especially interested to hear about anyone who left their home location to recover elsewhere and how it worked out.

I had a bad patch - not sure of it was a breakdown. I was single at the time and lived alone.

I hid out at home for a couple of months - was off work, avoided people and attended counselling every week. I gradually re introduced myself into normal life, not too much pressure. I kept it a secret from a lot of people, which was a huge mistake.

Once the worst had passed I got myself back into a routine of sleeping through the night - stopped eating rubbish, and made myself leave the house once a day. I remember being hugely impressed with myself for buying a new t shirt.

It takes time but normality does return.

I’ve been sectioned twice. Had a lot of therapy.

Happy now, live with my partner and my DD(17) and work part time.

One day at a time. A lot of therapy. Often dragging myself through the days. And slowly began to see a better version of me emerging. But fuck me, it was slow.

I did two things. Firstly, when meeting psychiatrist saw my file with words 'not considered danger to her children' in massive letters all over it (front, side and back). Absolutely sh*t myself to think it wasn't just me but the whole family that were affected, and that I was lucky that assessment had been made (I only ever thought it harming myself not others but still).

The second was I returned to work as my mat leave was over on a very phased return (4 hours a day the days a week building up to full time after 8 weeks or so).

Both these things just meant I HAD to fill my head with other thoughts, and gradually through work my sense of self improved and made me feel both valued and that I was capable, which helped enormously. Also forced me to interact with others rather than hiding away, it was very very tough but really did help.

So sorry things are tough, what kind of care are you currently under?

Slowly. With help from a few close friends and family members. By avoiding some other family members. Seeing a counsellor. Antidepressants. Avoiding lots of social situations. Some days just staying in the house and others out walking (fields, beaches anywhere that I wouldn’t bump into people I knew). Being kind to myself.

Slowly. Being kind to myself - and honest with myself at least.

Cut right back on what I was doing and took a break from working (I was lucky to have a supportive husband and for us to be able, just, to manage financially). I did make myself get up, dressed and put on my face every day even if I didn’t go out. We have two DC and they were mid primary school age at the time.

For me, “faking it until I was making it“ worked within the new parameters that I had set for myself

Medication and therapy

A family member went through this. Leaving the home for recovery elsewhere wasn’t an option for them, but they did go very low profile for a few months. Avoided a lot of social situations. Took a little time off work, though she said after that going back quite soon on a phased return was really helpful, because it gave some structure to her days and weeks. She said routine was very important: making sure she got up, got outside every day, did a bit of exercise and forced herself to cook a simple but nutritious meal. She also had some talking therapy. I would say it was about a year before she was really ‘herself’ and doing all the things she wanted to do with family and friends. But that’s not to say she was in a bad way all that time... it was probably only a few weeks she was off work and really withdrawn and not functioning well. I think she actually did an amazing job of looking after herself and allowing herself a long, steady recovery rather than trying to short cut it

I didn't leave home, I locked myself in the house for 6 months and spent most of that time in bed. By the end of it I was just about able to face the world again but did it again for one month a few years later.

It probably took a full year for me too. Although the really bad time peaked for about three to four weeks.

My therapist said it was fine to just watch tv and do nothing else for a short period of time when it wasn’t really bad - but advised me to stop watching mindless comedies and watch something complex that I had to pay attention to. It actually did helped - I was too dear gone to read a book, but binge watching crime series was the only thing that would occupy me troubled mind.

So sorry you’re going through this. I had a massive breakdown, lost my job, spent a month in hospital, really, really thought I would die. It took two years to properly recover, but I got there in the end. Partly through finding the right antidepressant and the right dose, but mainly through the old cliche of clinging on one day at a time. It was horrid, months and months of wishing the time away so the day would end, but it is possible. Gradually I found myself interested in things again, motivated to do small things. Often I found I was able to do small tasks but felt no sense of accomplishment at all from them, but they were worth doing anyway—in hindsight it was still a sign of improvement. It was fits and starts though, with lots of backsliding.

Not letting anyone else (even well-meaning loved ones or medical folk) try and set the pace of my recovery—trusting myself to know when I should push through and when i’d be better off eg staying home alone. And being as open or not with people as I felt was right for me. There are no real rules, and you know yourself best. Trust your gut, I suppose.

I know my mh issues are far from cured (still can’t work etc), but I feel like life is worth living again—I am capable of laughing, enjoying things, leaving the house, which seem like small accomplishments to some, but I really believed they’d never be possible again. That’s what everyone says, I know, but it’s true. I never believed I’d still be alive at this point, and now I can’t imagine what it was like to feel so awful for so long.

Thank you to everyone who replied - I appreciate your responses.

CBT, loads of meditation, anti-depressants, ending a relationship, giving up wine and cigarettes, being kinder to myself. Best wishes.

I had a nervous breakdown in October last year after I had a surprise, late pregnancy. I gave birth very soon after finding out and went to work full time when baby was 3 months old.

I developed a stutter, forgot my children in cars, kept turning up to the wrong childminder or nursery on the wrong day, lost the ability to articulate my thoughts and was absolutely exhausted to the point I fell asleep driving / eating dinner etc.

I had to leave my job and work in a much lower paid job part time to cope. Anti depressants, completely cutting out negative people and situations and sleeping tablets have helped me on the road to recovery plus the support of my lovely DH.

I think I'm unusual - my actual breakdown was a slow one, but recovery was quicker. Two years of slowly isolating and crumbling inside.

I thought I was coping until I came down from bed one night to email the Samaritans because I felt so overwhelmed and consumed I wanted to die.

Once I reached out for help (GP) my recovery actually went fairly quickly.

Diagnosis of long-standing cPTSD, GAD and agoraphobia. Three months of weekly CBT and I was making lots of progress. Just to know what was wrong helped enormously. I did lots of reading too; self help and trauma recovery sort of books. I fully committed!

Vital:

-- reach out for help
-- forgive yourself that you need help (everyone does)
--do not beat yourself up
--celebrate each good day and each and every small achievement (even if it's managing to get out of bed and wash your hair) like you've won a marathon
--realise you are awesome and have a lot to offer the world

Medication and a lot of therapy are helping me to recover. My breakdown was in 2013, with a very serious suicide attempt in 2014.

I've been seeing a counsellor since 2013 and have EMDR treatment to help me with childhood trauma (a direct cause of my breakdown, though it was triggered by other things) I've also learned a lot about mindfulness, meditation and self care.

Very supportive husband and friends have been massively important too, as was my manager at the time who understood what I was going through. My manager got me the first 10 weeks of counselling through our employee assistance scheme and we have paid the same counsellor privately since then.

My GP is a mental health specialist and he is very good at keeping me on a treatment plan, so I'd maybe see if any doctors in your surgery are particularly interested in mental health.

My cat is also important too, my husband got her for me as a distraction and something else to focus on. She has been wonderful for me.

Time and distance from the breakdown is also helping. It's a process and there is no magic fix unfortunately.

I have BPD and at the start of my illness I had lots of mini breakdowns. Then a massive one where I decided that I would finally kill myself. It was then only after that I started twice a week therapy. I stayed in bed an awful lot and needed to take things much slower. But like the others have said one day at a time.

Make sure your eating. I couldn't manage cooking so it was simple ready meals or chocolate milk, protein bars and rice cakes.

Do you have family/ friends to reach out to? In hindsight I isolated myself because I didn't have the energy to just engage anymore and started saying no to things I didn't want to do.

Not sure if I have had a breakdown or if I was close but my way to recover was rest until I was ready to get better then I started setting small goals for that day. The first one for me was getting out of bed and taking my meds before 5pm if done it at 4.59 it was still a success. That could take me all day, but It was a building block. I would build up to leaving the house. For me it was like a switch went off and I was done I couldn't function anymore and I spent the best part of a month in bed.

This happened to me 5 years ago. I know the phrase nervous breakdown has gone out of fashion but that's the only way I can describe it. I had just returned from living in the USA and was sharing a house with a friend but it wasn't working out too well. It was as if life slipped out of gear. I was totally disassociated and the world felt alien and unfamiliar. One night I was Skyping with my ex (still a very close friend) and he became concerned. He lived about 200 miles away, out in the countryside. He said, "I'm coming to get you. You can live here as long as you need." and he did. I lived there for several months, taking things slowly, just getting out in the fresh air every day and gradually building routine. About four months down the line I found a job that I absolutely loved and that was the real beginning of my recovery. I ended up becoming a bit of a workaholic, 5 years later and a couple of job changes and I still am. I know that's not entirely healthy, there should be balance, but it's how I dealt with that dreadful time. It took about two years to get my life back on track. I now live my new partner, my ex and I are still very close friends and I am so grateful that recognised how ill I was and that he wanted to help. I don't know where I would be now if it wasn't for him