Mind Tools - Effective Stress Management

'Breakdown'

Where an individual has been under sustained stress for a long period of time, has suffered serious life crises, or has reached a stage of exhaustion and demoralisation, then breakdown may occur.

This may show itself physically as a heart attack, angina or a stroke, or may show as 'nervous' or 'mental' breakdown, where the sufferer becomes mentally ill. In the latter case symptoms may not be seen by the individual, but may be obvious to partners, friends and colleagues.

'Breakdown' sounds sudden and dramatic - in the case of physical breakdown it may be. Mental breakdown, however, may be slow in onset, and may be mild or severe. The boundary between prolonged unhappiness or exhaustion and breakdown is blurred - one definition of breakdown may be that the sufferer finally carries out some act that makes it impossible to continue functioning normally in society.

Symptoms of nervous breakdown may be:

uncharacteristic, uncontrollable, irrational behaviour
intense and excessive anxiety
severe depression
obsessive activity - persistent performance of an irrational activity, or of a normal activity to an irrational degree
manic depression - depression interspersed with periods of euphoria
destructive and self-destructive behaviour:
- sobbing
- screaming
- shouting
- violence
- self-mutilation
- suicide
doing stupid things:
- giving up a good job
- breaking up good relationships
- shoplifting
- becoming dependent on drugs
schizophrenia

Where breakdown appears to be underway, seek professional help immediately.

Highly Recommended Books

For an excellent book on stress management, try The Book of Stress Survival - How to Relax and Live Positively by Alix Kirsta. This is a very pleasant, well-presented, sensible approach to stress management. It covers many important areas completely ignored by most other books.

Avoiding or Handling Breakdown

Finding Your Optimum Stress Levels

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