Emotional breakdowns can be a common occurrence for individuals who struggle with their mental or emotional health. Despite the concerns they pose for well-being, there are many great treatment and recovery options for individuals that experience an emotional breakdown. There are also many signs to look out for if an emotional breakdown is suspected or on the horizon. While emotional breakdowns can be scary, they can also be an indicator that something more serious is going on under the surface. Therefore, getting help for an emotional breakdown may circumvent more serious issues from manifesting down the road.
Addressing the Severity of Emotional Breakdowns in Daily Life
When it comes to emotional breakdowns (more pejoratively known as mental or nervous breakdowns), it is important to understand that they should be taken more seriously than many people may understand. The reason for this is that a mental breakdown is often used casually in conversation to describe a situation that does not warrant the terminology. For example, someone that is upset about something small not going right in their day might tell someone they felt like they were going to have a “breakdown.” While that individual’s stress should not be minimized, neither should the reality of a legitimate emotional breakdown.
People may also feel like it is weak or uncommon to experience an emotional breakdown. This is not the case at all. Many factors go into a person experiencing an emotional breakdown and rarely are any of them ever the individual’s fault. Also, emotional breakdowns are much more common than many people may understand. In fact, with an estimated one in five individuals living with a mental illness in 2021, it should be no surprise that emotional breakdowns are also prevalent in today’s society.
What Is an Emotional Breakdown?
While an emotional breakdown is not diagnosed as a specific mental condition, it is a profound mental health issue that must be addressed. It must also be addressed by a mental health professional, though many people often make the mistake of trying to handle an emotional breakdown themself.
Ultimately, emotional breakdowns are caused by excessive stress and a lack of healthy skills to handle a stressful situation. Emotional breakdowns also rarely happen at the moment. Yes, there can be a specific inflection point, but the causes of an emotional breakdown often build up over time.
This is why being able to spot some of the warning signs that may lead up to an emotional breakdown can be critical. First, it could potentially lead to intervention before an emotional breakdown happens. Second, it could trigger awareness as an emotional breakdown is happening so that the proper professional mental health care can be sought right away.
The Warning Signs of a Potential Emotional Breakdown
While the warning signs are vast and varied regarding the potential for an emotional breakdown, there are a few more common signs to look out for. Those at risk for an emotional breakdown may:
- Begin to feel overwhelmed by school or work. This may start small but slowly build until an individual begins to isolate because of it.
- More frequently vent about increasing pressures and responsibilities. For example, they may be stressed about having too many responsibilities and admit a fear of not being able to “keep up.”
- Noticeably struggle while grieving the loss of a loved one. While some grief is of course normal, an “excessive” amount of time grieving or thinking about loss may be a signifier of something like an impending emotional breakdown
- Experience financial strain or overwhelm. There may be sudden financial strains that begin to make an individual feel overwhelmed by once-manageable life-situations.
The Symptoms of an Emotional Breakdown in Progress
If the warning signs that lead up to an emotional breakdown are missed, as they often are, being able to spot the symptoms of an emotional breakdown early can be crucial in getting proper mental health treatment. The following are some, but certainly not all, of the symptoms often associated with emotional breakdowns:
- A sudden loss of energy and a constant feeling of being fatigued
- An inability to maintain a healthy sleep pattern, including insomnia and sleeping too much
- Feeling depressed and anxious
- Being physically rundown, such as having excessive muscle fatigue and soreness in the joints
- An inability to communicate feelings, even with close loved ones and trusted friends
- Not wanting to eat or no longer enjoying the act of eating
Treatment Options for Recovering From Emotional Breakdowns
If an emotional breakdown is detected, then it is important to seek professional help sooner than later. Treatment for emotional breakdowns can help treat the underlying emotions and potential trauma that often exist under the surface and emerge in the form of an emotional breakdown. At The Phoenix Recovery Center, this includes therapy and treatment with a mental health professional to help build coping and stress management skills to avoid more negative emotional issues from materializing down the road.
Here at The Phoenix Recovery Center, we believe that any emotional or mental health issue that causes discomfort or interruptions in daily life deserves to be treated. While an emotional breakdown may not rise to the level of mental illness, emotional pain, and emotional trauma is relative to the individual experiencing it. An emotional breakdown is more than a “casual” issue, so it deserves more than “casual” care.
For more information and support, please reach out to The Phoenix Recovery Center today at (801) 438-3185.
