To ask what a ‘nervous breakdown’ feels like?

[Colouredfelttippens]

I feel like I might be on the edge of one but not sure if im being overly dramatic.
id like to avert it if at possible. Is it a real thing that your body just says ‘no more’ and you basically can’t get up?

I think everyone is just giving their own experience. It doesn't mean everyone experiences it exactly the same. But many of us have had similar experiences to this poster.

Have you made an appointment with your psychiatrist? I'm sure you know you need help now before it gets any worse.

To be honest, I'm pretty sure I have a general anxious disposition which could be easily triggered with the (right?) bad circumstances or situations that would tip me over the edge once again.

During my breakdown, I saw my GP on numerous occasions, she could see I was increasingly unwell and very distressed. She even said at one point that she knew I was severely ill and a lot of people who are incredibly mentally vulnerable on that cusp of a breakdown don't actually have any insight into how ill yet they truly are. This was the only time that I realised that I must have been getting to the point where I might be hitting rock bottom.

You must take the time off work for the call. You don’t sound well at all.

I couldn’t eat or sleep (I was sleeping about an hour and a half a night for a few weeks), I had every anxiety symptom except vomiting. I was depressed but not fully aware of it because the anxiety was all-consuming. Eventually I was afraid to walk from one room to another. I was in hospital for three months, I was shocked by how seriously they took it and looking back I can see that I was really ill, but at the time I was just confused and afraid and very very tired. I couldn’t read, or focus on a tv programme. I’ve made an excellent recovery although it has been very gradual, and I feel better now than i ever have before. I urge you to take your feelings seriously. Look after yourself

Exactly the same as my experience. Except I also needed sertraline which really helped me for a while.

There was no 'moment' I just became more emotional and more sleep deprived while attempting to keep going. It took my body months to fully recover. Even weeks after giving up my job I'd still have nightmares about it.

@Colouredfelttippens

A practical point re. doctor's note to be signed off work (which you definitely should be you poor thing- call in sick tomorrow for a start)

I had no luck getting a GP appointment in next month when I tried today, but I could click "online consultation" and "fit note" on gp website and write out my own sick note basically! And gp will approve or not. That's how I'll be going off work, and averting a breakdown. Can't go on as I am with the stress and anxiety or I'll be very ill.

Confused, afraid and very, very tired... really resonates with me. I didn't sleep more than 2 hours for 3 months and once hospitalised and medicated I spent about 6 months dozing in an armchair.

I had extreme anxiety where I just stopped functioning - stopped eating, sleeping, watching TV, going on my phone. I just sat in the same spot all day when I wasn't full on panicking or in hysterics. That's what it was like for me and I would say that was some sort of breakdown!

Go to A&E if it's bad - that's what I had to do!

Call in sick on Thursday and wait for the call in peace. Health over work. ALWAYS

I thought it would feel like a crack as others have described much actually it was like a sort of slow motion disintegration.

No idea if this is a breakdown, but word for word you described what I went through in 2009. It will get better. Try to see your GP. Try to work out what's started it all off / brought it to a head. I genuinely feel your pain.

I’m not an expert but I think it can look different for different people. My Nan had a couple and she would get confused with what was real and what wasn’t.

I don't have a psychiatrist. I will be seeing my GP though, thank you. I expect they'll just tell me to practice mindfulness again like they have the last few times though. Incidentally, I have tried that. Mindfulness, meditation, yoga, running, healthy diet, drinking more water, getting a good amount of sleep, quitting drinking and smoking. I've completely overhauled my lifestyle and none of it has cured my stress. I'm sick to death of being told to try bloody mindfulness!

Mine is mostly a complete blank because I was so gone in the head, I don't remember much. Apparently I couldn't talk, move, sleep. I didn't know my family existed. I didn't eat, wash, dress and refused meds. I wouldn't engage with anyone, wouldn't leave the bed, spent a lot of time sobbing and trying to breathe. I wanted to die and tried to harm myself. I wasn't "there" or conscious of anything I was doing. I wasn't aware of anything around me. All I knew was fear, panic and wanting to die. I was convinced that if I slept, I wouldn't wake up. Lost a lot of weight, was very physically ill and lost my job. There was no way I could even slightly function.

GPs don’t have any mental health training so ask to be referred to a psychiatrist asap. Tell them what you’ve written here.

Mine was the same. I remember the moment where I walked out of work, went home, got in bed, and switched my phone off.

The next few months are a blur. I really don't remember much at all, apart from the desperation for my life to be over.

Before that happened, the best I can describe things was everything was normal but it was like I was hearing sinister music in my head so life felt like I was in a horror film. I didn't actually hear any music, but everything felt incredibly perilous and tense. I wanted so badly to get into bed and hide from the world that I could have screamed.

I went on to make a full recovery. I'm actually more resilient and calm now. I know that even when things get seriously bad, I can get better. But I really wish I had listened to myself better and gone to the doctor sooner, taken medication sooner, and rested sooner. I shouldn't have pushed myself to breaking point like that.

When someone very close to me had one, his symptoms were:

Nausea and vomiting
Severe depression
Fatigue and insomnia
Nightmares
Being unable to string a sentence together - a catatonic state

Constant thoughts of suicide culminating in an attempt.

Basically he walked around like a hollow eyed zombie. He couldn't be alone and I would wake up to find him rocking in the corner of the bedroom.

Anti depressants and talking therapy worked but it took several months.

Oh, I'm sorry, I know what you mean. When I was suicidal I got sick of being told to have a bath!

Do you take any medication? (Obviously only answer if you want to.)

I can do relate to everything feeling 'perilous and tense.' I remember telling my therapist I felt 'death was near'. It was actually therapy that triggered my breakdown. I couldn't cope with talking about my trauma.

@whyamiawakestillitssolate had exactly the same. Just handed in my notice at my job. Did this make a positive impact for you?

If I was you I would book an appointment with a private psychiatrist who can get you a diagnosis then you can be armed with their letter to take to the drs, that’s what I did to get them to take me seriously when I was fobbed off! Turns out I had bipolar and the new medication has worked wonders. I went to a top dr in London and it cost me about 350 pounds for two sessions for a diagnosis. But mine was quite complex so you might just need one and you can get it cheaper than that.

I have had several episodes in my life when I just felt that I could not go on, that I was "beside myself" in the sense that I felt like a spectator in my own life. I have been very lucky to have a GP with an interest in mental health, I used to write down what was going on in my life and my head when I went to see her and she found it very useful and would scan it into my notes. I now have a diagnosis of Complex PTSD, resulting from a lot of stressful life events. I think it is different for everyone simply because we are unique and have our own life experiences. There is help out there and coming out to the other side is a great feeling

Sorry - been on holiday and only just saw this - yes, it helped hugely.

I had six months off work in the end - first couple didn’t have much impact, I remember I cried when I bumped into someone who I worked with years previously and they asked about work as just thinking about it still made me feel super anxious. But gradually it got better and I started to feel more myself - I didn’t do a lot, just laid around and watched TV, went on walks, tidied the house, saw friends etc.

By the end of the six months I was ready to work again but my resilience isn’t where it should be still (a year on) so decided to take a back step in my work and do a less stressful role with less responsibility where I could strictly stick to part time hours. I generally feel much better, I still have anxious days but I’m coping and productive and it’s much better for my family - no more panic attacks or crying fits 😊.

I think I probably still need some therapy so that’s my next step but the break from work / stress really really helped