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health advisory Hospital Mental Health 2007-11-15 19:02:01

A mental breakdown is not the same as a panic attack, though mental breakdowns can trigger panic.

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Mental breakdown (also known as nervous breakdown) is a non-medical term used to describe a sudden, acute attack of mental illness such as depression or anxiety. When used in common social discourse, the term often has pejorative connotations.

Specific cases are usually described as a "breakdown" only after a person becomes unable to function in day-to-day life due to mental illness. At that point the person's condition is advanced, and seeking professional aid is likely advisable.

Like the term 鈥渟anity,鈥?the terms "nervous breakdown" or "mental breakdown" have no medical definition and are not used in a clinical sense. However, the medical or personal problems precipitating a sudden breakdown may well benefit from professional medical or psychological treatment.

A mental breakdown is not the same as a panic attack, though mental breakdowns can trigger panic.

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there is not now nor has there ever been a nervous break down . as far as mental health goes.

this is a term used by lay people to say the person has or is suffering from some form of mental illness.

stress is greator now then in the past. we work longer hours then people in the 1800's this is a fact.

there are not really more people who are ill with some mental illness but there is a greator number of people who are treated for some form of mental illness this is due to the fact that we have more stress and the medical community is better able to identify an illness instead of sending the person on there way with two asprin.

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Yes, it it called a psychotic snap or a psychotic episode. They do still occur today; however, advances have been made in treatment and medications. I don't think people were any sicker then, but the treatment and knowledge were limited. Also during the "old days" a lot of medications were misused that actually made conditions worse. For instance, cocaine was actually used to treat depression and morphine was used to treat a cold. So hopefully we are in better hands today.

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People have different levels of mental illness. From depressed to schizophrenic. Some people are still hospitalize or in group home settings, and others are out patient treatments. I think the "hush hush" comes from a lack of understanding of the illness, and how to treat someone who has a mental illness. there is alot of stigma reguarding it. I think we've improved as a society reguarding people who are ill. I work with people who have schizophrenia, and our goal is to work them back into society and to have as normal of a life as possible, its not always possible for everyone, but for alot of people medication and treatment does help. What people need to know about someone with an illness, is that they arn't stupid, that you don't have to talk to them like they are a child, and that they want just as badly to fit in as anyone else does.