Nervous Breakdown: Why It's Hard to Recognize and What You Can Do

In a previous article, we explained the meaning of a nervous breakdown and the reasons it can sometimes be difficult to identify.

Nervous breakdowns are hard to recognize also because it can be impossible to predict which events will trigger them. Sometimes it's not one clear event, but rather a buildup of smaller incidents- like microtraumas- that eventually lead to a psychological collapse. For example, a difficult marriage can slowly erode a person’s mental stability, and without any defining dramatic event, they may suddenly find themselves in the midst of a breakdown.

It’s important to understand that everyone experiences a certain amount of negative emotion in life. Feelings such as guilt, worthlessness, or being taken advantage of are not uncommon. However, in most cases, these feelings do not lead to a breakdown. The key lies in the intensity and duration- as long as these feelings are confined to specific situations or short periods and don’t dominate the person’s entire life, they are usually manageable and don't cause long-term harm.

When a person finds that they are unable to disconnect from negative emotions throughout the day, this is a red flag that demands immediate attention.

If someone feels unappreciated at work, even exploited or humiliated, this is undoubtedly a difficult feeling. But if they know that their workday ends at 4:00 p.m. and they are able to mentally disconnect afterward, by finding joy and peace with their family, it’s likely they will be able to manage the work-related stress without it developing into a breakdown.

However, if that person cannot mentally separate from those negative emotions even after work, this becomes troubling. Instead of suffering for eight hours a day, their body is in a state of overwhelm 24/7. Temporary stress may be manageable, but continuous emotional distress, hour after hour, day after day, is a far more challenging burden, and one that many people cannot carry without eventually reaching a crisis point.

Recognizing the Tipping Point

As long as a person can integrate and cope with the events in their life, they won’t break. But once they reach their individual threshold (which varies from person to person), a breakdown is likely to follow.

For this reason it can be difficult to recognize the early warning signs of a breakdown. A person may seem to be coping for a long time and handling a certain degree of emotional pain until in one moment, they reach their limit and collapse.

To detect the danger early, even before it becomes a breakdown, one must remain alert. Ask yourself: "Is there a specific issue in my life that consumes too much of my emotional energy and creates constant stress during my daily routine?"

What Can Be Done?

If someone reaches the point of emotional breakdown, or if they are beginning to feel overwhelmed, they should try to help themselves as early as possible. Support is necessary in two parallel ways:

1. Immediate Relief:
   Address the urgent stressor and provide short-term solutions. Taking a break from daily pressures, or cognitively reframing a stressful event (i.e., realizing it’s not as bad or threatening as it initially seemed), can help stop the spiral and prevent a breakdown from progressing.

2. Emotional Boundaries:
   When possible, mentally distance from negative emotions for part of the day and set defined limits. For example, if someone can "leave" their negative feelings at work and not bring them home, they are much more likely to cope effectively.

It’s crucial to understand that these are not long-term solutions. Life will continue to bring challenges, and it’s not always possible to avoid stress or pressure. To prevent a nervous breakdown, one must work on increasing their emotional resilience- their ability to withstand and process stress.

Looking Ahead: Understanding Defense Mechanisms

To build this resilience, we first need to understand the psychological mechanisms that cause some people to break down under pressure, while others remain emotionally stable in similar situations. In the next article, we will introduce the important concept of defense mechanisms, and explore how they influence our ability to manage stress and protect our mental well-being.