Nervous Breakdowns: Why They Happen and How To Turn It Around

Nervous breakdowns happen. They aren’t something you can prepare for or detect when it’s on the horizon. But there are ways to swim back to shore after feeling like Tom hanks in Castaway when he's talking to a volleyball. First, we have to find the trigger, what is the cause of the system overload. After we find the cause, we look at  a remedy tailored to treat the meltdown, and lastly we find ways to grow from that moment. 

There is always a trigger before the nervous breakdown surfaces. It could be a dish that your roommate left on the sink last week, your mom nagging you to get your life together, or you just haven't had time to breathe. That's when I start to eat poorly, Im less motivated, and I tend to think more negatively. These are my symptoms, it usually happens when I’ve gone a long period of time working and not  taking any breaks to check in with myself. I try to be reflective and find out the root of my wayward behavior. its usually because I'm overthinking or Im stressed about some critique or feedback about my work. Any time I back track to try to find how I ended up in this space, I see the flashing red signs that were there but I ignored. I tried to cover it with “ Its fine”, “Im good”, or “I'm just not going to think about it” but I always end up falling and dropping the many pieces of my life I try to juggle without slowing down and being mindful of rest. 

At some point, you may be already in the middle of the storm and you feel like there’s no turning back. The reality is you're drowning in 3 feet of water, and sometimes the remedy is just to stand up and realize you are bigger than this. But I also get caught up on the struggle bus.  So I get it. If you go through the list of adult life, at a certain angle it sucks. There's bills, never ending traffic, and hostile work environments. What I manage to do is monitor my thoughts more closely and create the cure for myself. An instant way to feel a bit of stability is  to do something that will improve your life, that could be cleaning out your closet and drawers. Make the remedy fit your lifestyle. Make sure it doesn't turn into excessive retail therapy. I’ve been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. ( hope that made you smile). You can experience relief within your four walls. All you need is YOU to change the outlook  and ultimately bring peace amongst the storm. You hold the antidote to your poisonous negative thoughts that can plant seeds to sprout a nervous breakdown.

After we sorted out the situation, you can always take away that you did the inner work to become more equipped for the hard days at the office, or your roommates dish problems. You have grown so much since the last episode and now it will take so much more to actually affect you. You are under new management and can put your volleyball friend away.

cover image via The Healthy