Mental health breakdown - what are the symptoms/what happens?

[UnitaBath]

Have you ever had a mental health breakdown? What happened and what were your symptoms?

Also, does a breakdown always mean a stay in a mental health unit?

Despite decades of poor mental health I’m now at the worst point I’ve ever been and so scared that I’m heading towards a breakdown.

I cry on/off all day, every day, I sleep whenever I can as it’s the only way to drown out the noise, I feel wretched and have so many physical health issues that I’m also dealing with which exacerbates the anxiety, depression and panic attacks but I also have many plates spinning in the air and they need to continue to spin because then other people will fall too, so I plaster a face on and just get in with it but inside I’m a complete wreck but no one takes me seriously, how do you get anyone to take you seriously? Do I need to just collapse and refuse to get up? Lay in bed for days and stay there until someone takes it seriously or do I live out my fantasy of just disappearing so those around me may actually see that I can’t do it all anymore and I need help?

Honestly, no one sees how broken I am inside - no one.

I am so pleased you have your husband. Try not to let your worries about what he might be going through set in right now - it sounds like there are other things it would be good to prioritise first.

It's great you have a re-assessment / review set up for your Mum. What I am wondering, kindly, is if you were open with Social Services about how you are feeling and the impact of seeing to your Mum and Dad on your well-being? Maybe have a little think and work out whether you need to give them a call back to explain that, on top of everything else you're dealing with (your physical health, your children, your mental state), co-ordinating your Mum and Dad's lives doesn't feel sustainable and you are reaching the point of break down. The wheels might move a bit quicker for you...

Are you in touch with any carer's support service, such as the carer's trust? You might not have the energy at the moment to try to find out about what they could offer but maybe save it for when you can manage it.

You mention not wanting to end up in a mental health unit. That is generally very last resort (i.e. if you're a risk to your own or other's health and safety and can't keep yourself safe at home). But I've supported people into and out of hospital settings and for some people it can be the beginning of a positive change. x

Hi OP this sounds tough. In answer to your original question, yes some people do just get into bed and don't get up. There's such a variety to a breakdown. Yes it's not called a breakdown really in psychiatry but they do exist in that there can be a build up of events or stress or what have you.

So some people go to bed, some do genuinely go a bit mad, like they're found wandering by police muttering things that don't make sense. Some express thoughts of serious harm to self or others, some get aggressive and a bit doolally with it. It's the going a bit mad I guess that could be called a breakdown. And that can manifest in various ways - as I've put above. A good few are picked up by emergency services and transferred to a s136 suite where they're assessed. Then they might be detained under section.

To have a hospital stay, you need a Mental Health Act assessment. Then you can be detained under section. But it has to be deemed impossible to care for you at home if that makes sense. Or the community team can't contain the risk anymore.

It does sound like something might need to change in your situation. Crying a lot is information that you're overwhelmed. And that's understandable given your situation. Good talking therapy can work wonders. Even if you could afford once a month? Or talking to the Samaritans or other charity organisations. Getting it off your chest and helping you think about things you can change, and things you can't etc. 💐