What is the modern or medical/technical definition of a nervous breakdown?

Information courtesy of: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nervous-breakdown/AN00476

I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-all technical or medical definition since this is an umbrella term covering various types of problems ranging from simple neuroses all the way to the first manifestations of acute schizophrenia. So it’s hardly that useful of a term. To replace it, the precise definition depends upon the eventual diagnosis which obviously varies from one person to another. It’s a shortcut way to say that someone is in crisis (as opposed to normal everyday functioning).

My former Psychiatrist (with 25 yrs. experience) had an interesting take on that usage. He said that his preffered description would be “breakUP” as in it breaks up the carefully constructed facade of repression and denial that enables some people with serious underlying problems to appear to have everything under controll.

Repression takes a ton of energy to maintain over time and when that type of energy fades, it prompts a breakup of dysfunctional patterns that has the potential to produce true strength coming from inner growth and development that comes with addressing reality. That growth and insight does not fade over time.

Interesting perspective which made a lot os sense at the time (and still does).

And appropriately “shrinky”.

So now I’ll go see what Mayo clinic’s take on it is.

There is none. “Nervous breakdown”, “mental breakdown” – these are layman’s terms not used by the professional mental health community except to communicate to patients in terms they already know and can understand.

I like your explanation better than the Mayo Clinic explanation @Buttonstc.

Buttonstc That is an interesting way to think about it. The aspect of repressive coping mechanisms breaking down makes sense. When a system (or person) becomes overloaded with stresses it falls apart and can no longer function as it used to to maintain order. So the term breakdown seems totally appropriate. The potential for growth would be there as well as the danger of vaulting over the precipice and being unable to climb your way back. Hopefully with the right nurturance more people are able to recover and not only cope but live more fully and authentically.

@tranquilsea

All of what I wrote was essentially a paraphrase of how he explained it to me and it made so much sense I’ve remembered it all these years.

He had interesting ways of seeing a lot of different terms which we usually take for granted. I learned a lot from him.

@Aethelflaed: I know they’re layman’s terms. I asked the question because there has to be a correlation as far as a diagnosis goes. For example, the layman’s term may be “broken leg” and the medical diagnosis would be “fractured femur.” The layman’s term may be “high blood pressure” and the medical diagnosis would be “hypertension.” The layman’s term may be “clogged arteries” and the medical diagnosis would be “coronary artery disease.”

@jca There really isn’t, though. The closest you would get would be mental health professionals elaborating on how your previous diagnosis has gotten more severe, ie “has severe, chronic PTSD, is now showing more dissociation than previously, with semi-frequent catatonic episodes”. Or, “is seeing more grandiosity in bipolar I than previously”. Maybe “depression has become more severe, with new suicidal ideation; is now ranking a 21 on the PHQ-9, up 10 points from 1 month ago”. But it’s not just the term “nervous/mental breakdown” that’s layman, it’s the whole idea. The professional psych community just really doesn’t think in those terms… It’s both too specific and too vague to be really useful to them.

Out of character behavior to a life threatening or detrimental extreme that can’t be controlled or altered by reason or common sense. It is degerative and harmful, it leads to an eventual total psychotic break that is indicative as more symptomatic of the actual underlying medical condition that stressors and life issues bring to a head like a boil. Until you just *POP!

I had one a few years back and I was hospitalized for it. It was severe and probably I suffered with it alone for the better part of a year before it actually happened.

THere were people in my life at the time who aggrevated it and acted as torments that were rather off putting and confusion. Under normal circumstances I probably might have handled things much differently and far better but when you’re not working with a full deck, you’re just not going to ever be able to draw any kind of a winning hand.

*Wow… That’s full of typos… LOL