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The soul of our work is integrity - a joyful
expression of life that brings insight and understanding.
We help
people untangle difficult emotions and relationships to develop emotional maturity.
We help people pull themselves together.
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As soon as the rush is over,
I'm going to have a nervous breakdown!
I worked hard for it,
I owe it to myself,
And nobody is going to deprive me of it! |
Succeeding doesn't always mean being
successful!
What happens during a Nervous or Mental Breakdown?
Nervous, mental or emotional breakdowns are lay terms.
Nerves and emotions don't break down; these terms imply a loss of conscious
control or a sense of approaching collapse. These terms also refer to people
who hide unpleasant emotions, until finally they express their emotions
chaotically.
The emotional crisis often called a nervous, mental or
emotional breakdown may include a temporary loss of or disintegration of
personality. The unpleasant consequences may
include an inability to function, dissociation,
disillusionment, depression, little contact with
reality, hyperactivity, anxiety and / or panic attacks.
Nervous breakdowns can be disturbing, disorienting and frightening.
They may come suddenly following stress or they may seem to build up over time.
They
may be triggered by the loss of idealistic dreams.
Depression, confusion or anxiety may accompany an unpleasant sense of, "I
am out of control".
We also help people deal with humiliation - feeling
judged as a failure by important people. Humiliation is common following
emotional neglect, bullying or favoritism; and threats of humiliation are common
in emotional blackmail - including
pressure from coaches, teachers and helping professionals.
Warning Signs of Nervous Breakdown
Some warning signs can alert you that someone might be experiencing
an emotional or relationship crisis, and may benefit from immediate help or attention.
- threatens or tries to harm self or others
- cannot remember important recent events
- damages possessions, home
or relationships
- words make no sense (often called word salad)
- endlessly complains about feeling
disillusioned
- cannot cope with daily chores and
responsibilities
If you see any of these,
consider calling a crisis help
line or other source of help.
Many cities have a
suicide or crisis hotline. Hospitals or
medical centers may
help you decide how serious are the signs and what
you can do to help.
Stress & Emotional Breakdowns
Anxiety, stress and depression can occur when people suppress
and hide their
reactions. People who feel that they have no choices may experience and express strong
unpleasant emotions.
Following lasting stress, some people may say that they feel on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
You may want to react to stressful situations by
either getting away from the situation or fighting back. You cannot
always do this. If you cannot run away or fight back, you might force yourself
to stay ... and your stress builds up. The same thing might happen at home, or in a close
relationship.
To avoid becoming overwhelmed, you can change your relationships or you can learn to cope with
stress. You can eat healthier. You can walk a lot and exercise for about half
hour at least 3 times a week. You can get enough sleep. You can avoid
alcohol and illegal drugs. You can take a vacation. You can learn how to
relax. You can build and enjoy better relationships.
Coping with stress often means learning how to communicate
better. Our coaching in communication skills may help.
We also help people recognize and change stressful relationship
habits and complex relationship problems.
Personality Masks can Break Down
People we have met who broke down often appeared to be either
super
people pleasing and/or super-responsible. A people-pleaser
may obsess about being nice and not offending anyone. A
super-responsible person may be perceived by others as a control-freak, a
perfectionist or workaholic.
Perfectionists usually obsess about their goals. They want to
be seen as the champion, the best, the only flower in the garden, the winner
etc. They may try to make their own light brighter by making other people's
lights seem dimmer. But they may break down if they do not reach their goals.
On the other hand, the high achievers we have met seem to enjoy their
lives and their experiences, and they tend to be more persistent, happier with
life and more successful than perfectionists.
We offer solutions. When a personality mask finally breaks down, a
more truthful and healthier
identity can emerge. This emergence can be painful and haphazard with a
lot of
stress, or gently self-controlled during our chaos coaching.
Lasting Solutions for Anxiety, Stress and Depression
What causes breakdowns?
- Do illnesses cause breakdowns? Perhaps sometimes,
although few people who become ill experience mental breakdown.
- Does trauma cause breakdowns?
Perhaps sometimes, although few people break down during trauma, even
those who suffer extreme trauma.
- Do genetic factors cause break downs? Rather than
genetics, behavior copied from suffering family members is the only
known link to inherited dispositions to stress illnesses.
- Do low levels of neurotransmitters (brain
chemicals) cause breakdowns? Perhaps, although low levels of
neurotransmitters may be a symptom of breakdowns rather than a cause.
Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals which help regulate
moods. To boost these levels, people can change their behavior or ingest drugs. The
easier route (and much more profitable for health professionals) is
that people take prescription medication -
(and support a $12 billion / year of drug sales in America alone).
About 70% of people who now take antidepressants will experience
some sort of breakdown if they stop taking these addictive drugs. Antidepressants
treat a symptom – low levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. (While antidepressants are often given to the wrong people, many people
with severe depression are untreated.)
So what is the root cause of mental breakdown? The main difference
between people who experience a breakdown and people who don’t appears to be
emotional maturity ... how well they
manage and express unpleasant emotions. Immature people more often seem to
suffer low quality relationships, especially with their families and friends,
and suffer
unresolved stress and overwork.
Consult a physician about nervous,
mental or other breakdowns, or medical conditions.
Do you
want to control anxiety and stress, and to improve your relationships?
Online Coaching for Mental or
Emotional Breakdown
Plagiarism is theft. Copyright ©
Martyn Carruthers 2004-2012 All rights reserved.
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