What does a breakdown look like?

[L0stinCyberspace]

Just that.

That's not funny Showit

I can't answer though OP. Best wishes.

I think it looks different depending on who's doing it.

I think i'd like to know too, especially how it might present in different ways. There is someone I'm concerned about ATM.

Showit you’re on the wrong board.

what does it feel like? I think that’s the more relevant question than what it looks like. How it manifests/looks will be different for everyone.

What are you feeling like?

I guess it can take lots of different forms depending on what's caused it and what the life circumstances are.

I'd imagine some are very loud and destructive but they can also be terrifyingly silent and still and everything in between.

Perhaps if you describe what's going on we could help?

I think it’s essentially an inability to function day to day.

I think a ?fugue? Is a type of breakdown, where people disassociate from who they are and what’s happened to them, giving the appearance of a total memory loss. Can anyone elaborate on that, have I understood it correctly?

I imagine the presentation of it is very personal to the individual.

in my case it was very physical. My hand lost coordination, my motor skills deteriorated, my speech became difficult to remain ordered. I had wave after wave of anxiety which was like searing heat across my chest. I had constant diarrhoea and couldn’t put food in my mouth. If I push myself to do something like shower or make lunch for the kids I vomited constantly. This all happened very fast though the build up was months of feeling fluey and fuzzy headed, and random diarrhoea. This very bad patch passed in a few weeks and I could function somewhat after but I’d consider that a breakdown. Something definitely broke!

totally well and fine now by the way.

what are you experiencing or seeing in someone OP?

Broadly speaking it comprises of:

1. Behaviours that significantly deviate from societal & cultural norms.
2. Statistically infrequent thoughts & behaviours. E.g. prolonged extreme social withdrawal/isolation.
3. Failure to function adequately. E.g. not caring for personal hygiene, meeting responsibilities, getting out of bed, etc.
4. Causes distress to the individual or loved ones.

There isn't a diagnostic criteria for a mental breakdown, so it falls under the umbrella of mental illness. An individual's symptoms would be considered if a professional thought they might have a specific mental illness like PTSD or major depression. Otherwise, they would just focus on addressing the most concerning symptoms in absence of a specific disorder. Hope that helps x

Sorry OP. How do I get hq to remove my post? Maybe you need to expand on the situation, whether it's someone you know? I have been through what I consider to be one si I shouldn't make light of it really.

Retreating into oneself and not wanting to engage with anyone else. Neglecting their hygiene and not eating and drinking properly. Staying in bed and being all consumed with their thoughts.

I spent a whole night writing the work word "Red" in red pen on nearly everything I own.... Among other things

It's like a level of sadness that takes you to a complete new dimension.
Everything feels detached and far away.
It's as though you are watching yourself from a long way off.
The heartache is almost physical.
Half the time you don't realise that there are tears streaming down your face.
You find yourself gazing into space and missing whole chunks of conversations.
It's as though your body is present but your mind is somewhere else.
Nothing seems real.

It's different for different people

For me just before a breakdown I am unable to make decisions even small ones as every daily decision is usually left to me.
Snapping at people for tiny things.

I get a twitch in my right hand that gets more pronounced the more stressed and anxious.
I stop taking care of myself and the home, have no energy.

Then it's like I'm disconnected from myself watching from behind a window I can see what I'm doing but can't change it

Other people will react in other ways some are common reactions some less so

Are you worried about someone or asking for yourself?

In my case I had a psychotic breakdown... i became very delusional, extremely paranoid much more than usual. I thought my neighbour was planning to shoot me so I blocked every window with paper so he couldn't see in.
I thought MI6 were spying on me in my house & following me. I thought that the management at my workplace & the local community mental health team wanted me to kill myself. I could see faces in every object.
I smashed up my kitchen & the armed police came because I was stabbing the sofa with a knife.
But I wasn't sectioned... I was put on Risperidone which I dutifully took but it clashed with my epilepsy meds and I had a seizure at work.
Yes, unbelievably I was still attending work!
Predictably I then lost my career due to the psychosis... and was diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder bipolar type.
I'm on 30mg a day Aripiprazole now and can only work part time. I have periodic stability with periods of paranoia and sometimes hallucinations... but I do enjoy life now and my family & close friends all stuck by me.

Apologies folks I should have clarified that although under stress, I'm nowhere near a breakdown. Someone I was talking to recently said they were worried that I was "on the verge of a breakdown" in 2021, when I had a prolonged period of intense, external stress. I wasn't sure I was - I just thought I was dealing with extreme stress.

At the time I had brief flashes of seeing things that disappeared in the corner of my vision, but that stopped once the intensity of the stress reduced a bit.

When I had a breakdown I stopped sleeping and became delirious. I felt like I'd gone insane.

The thought of getting dressed gave me panic attacks.

I was thinking of ways to injure myself badly but not fatally or in a way that I'd become disabled, but enough to be allowed to stay in bed or be hospitalised for a couple weeks. I'd see a car coming and look for something to trip over. Or I'd consider falling off the train platform and breaking a leg.

I just wanted to completely disappear for a while.