8 Signs You’re Mentally Breaking Down
(upbeat music) – [Instructor] Hey Psych2goers. Welcome back to our channel. Thank you for your love and support. Your ongoing support
helps us further our goal to spread awareness about
mental health and psychology. So thank you. Now, onto the video. Do you feel tired, and foggy, and
have trouble concentrating? Or maybe you’ve been feeling depressed, or haven’t been getting enough sleep, or too much sleep. While these symptoms can happen
to anyone once in a while, piled together they can
make for some classic signs that you may be mentally breaking down.
You may have heard of
the term mental breakdown or nervous breakdown. You may have even been guilty
of using these terms casually. They’re no longer used
as clinical terms anymore by the medical community. And a nervous breakdown is not
considered a mental illness. Instead, it’s generally
viewed as a period when an overwhelming amount of stress affects an individual’s
ability to function. This stress can be physical or mental. And the symptoms of a mental breakdown can subtly sneak up on you
and grow out of control if you don’t catch the signs early enough. So to help better your mental health, let’s catch these signs early on and see if we can figure out together if you’re mentally breaking down. Sign number one, you sleep too much or not enough. Do you find yourself
suffering from insomnia? Do you spend your nights tossing
and turning with no relief? Or maybe you’re getting too much sleep.
Do you think to yourself, “I’ll just lay my head
down for one more minute?” And then you wake up to the lights of your
clock reading 5:00 pm? Oh boy! Who hasn’t had too much sleep at some point in their life, right? We most often sleep in on the weekends after a long week of
work or when we’re sick. But the thing is our mental
health can be sick as well. And our sleep patterns may
be affected because of it. You may be using sleep as
an escape from reality. So sleeping in seems much easier to handle than the difficulties of reality.
Or maybe you begin to
exhibit symptoms of insomnia because your brain is too
overactive at night with stress. You could be playing out situations or scenarios in your head that you’re stressed beyond belief about. Try instead to unwind before bed. Odds are you’ve heard it before, but a good book and a cup of
tea are good places to start if you can’t seem to sleep lately. The less stimulation the better. Just don’t watch TV or get
on your phone before bed.
We need to first wean ourselves from an overly active brain to a calm one by choosing less intense activities to transition to sleepy time. If you go from sprinting
to an immediate stop, you’re likely to fall. You might first slow down, walk and then stop to finish. It’s the same with going to bed, kinda. Number two, you show signs
of anxiety and depression. One of the most and signs that
you’re mentally breaking down is showing symptoms of
depression or anxiety.
Maybe you feel you’re tense all the time, dizzy, or find yourself ruminating on stressful ideas or situations, or maybe you find yourself
suddenly crying for no reason or feeling intense emotional guilt. These signs are important
to catch early on as they could pile up, leading to a mental breakdown. If you already suffer from
anxiety and depression and notice your symptoms are worsening, these could be signs that you’re mentally
breaking down as well. Number three is brain fog. Brain fog? What is that? While it’s not a medical condition, it’s a term that’s often used when one exhibits several symptoms related to their ability to think.
Perhaps you have difficulty concentrating. Or maybe you’ve been extremely indecisive or disoriented these
past few days or weeks. Even memory loss is a
symptom of brain fog. Number four is poor hygiene. If you suddenly find yourself neglecting your hygiene, it could mean something is going on. Poor hygiene can be a
sign of self-neglect. You may just feel that
you don’t have the energy or don’t feel the need to take care of yourself as much anymore. A sudden lack of hygiene
can be linked to depression or mental disorders. It’s best to recognize when
something is wrong early so you can seek out help. Number five, you withdraw from
social events and friends. Have you found that you’re
just not so up to hanging out with your friends this weekend, or next weekend, or the weekend after that? Maybe you dread going to that get-together with your friends this Saturday. And the task of getting ready (sighs) pain is taking the heart. Well, withdrawing from your
friends and social events could be an added sign that
you’re mentally breaking down. Humans need socialization. And when this is compromised, our mental health can pay the price.
Try getting back to socialization slowly if you find it difficult. Reach out to friends through text, share a funny or insightful video, then maybe a phone call. Isolating ourselves can be
one of the biggest mistakes to our mental health that we can make. So after this video, call your mom, text your friends, call a mental health helpline if needed, reach out, and share this
video with your uncle, Larry. He’s not doing anything. Just don’t mentally isolate yourself.
Number six is difficulty breathing. Do you often feel this
tightness in your chest or find yourself breathing rapidly? Maybe you’ve been taking
quick, rapid breaths more than usual as a response to stress. Go ahead, pay attention to
your breathing right now. I’m waiting. Are you breathing calmly and relaxed or are you having difficulty breathing? This is another sign of stress. And another sign that you may
be mentally breaking down. Stress can get the best of us. Anxiety has a way of finding
us when we least expect it. Our breathing can often identify if we’re indeed suffering from anxiety. And taking the time to slow
your breathing and relax may even relieve some of the
stress we carry day to day.
Go ahead, take a deep breath. In, one, two, three. Out, one, two, three. (sighs) Feel better? I know I do. Number seven, you feel
physical pain as well. Maybe you’ve happened to notice
that you’ve been suffering from one too many headaches per week, more like seven per week, per day. And that stomachache
can’t seem to go away. Physical pain can often show up when we’re severely stressed. This can be in the form of
a light headache every day to a blaring migraine. That feeling of a knot in your stomach could be stressed too. Of course, if these physical
symptoms of pain persist and feel like something
more than just stress, it’s best to talk to a doctor right away. But if you still feel the
emotional pain persisting as well, that is just as valid a reason to seek help from a mental health doctor.
And number eight, you suddenly
eat too much or too little. Sudden changes in appetite can
be a sign of stress as well. The stress hormone cortisol
can suddenly cause us to crave certain unhealthy foods, high in fat and sugar. So when we’re extremely stressed, bring up the family-size
bag of potato chips and a tub of ice cream. Hey, every one of us
can overeat on a bad day now and then. But when this becomes every night, odds are there’s some suppressed stress you need to confront. Remember we may neglect
self-care due to stress which means we may not
wanna put in the effort to prepare a healthy breakfast or dinner.
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Be aware of this and try to tell yourself that simply spending some time in the kitchen making
your favorite healthy dish can have some serious benefits
to your mental health. Try some deep breathing as
you put your dinner together. You can try staying in the present by focusing on the task at hand to distract yourself from ruminating on those
worrisome thoughts. Make another healthy sandwich for a friend to share while watching a movie. But then once the movie is over, turn off the TV and wind down with a book. Your sleep will thank you for it later. So, do you exhibit any of these signs? Did you practice your deep
breathing along with me or maybe you’ll reach out
to your mom or a friend and share this video?
Do you have an Uncle Larry? Feel free to let us know in the comments. And remember, whatever
struggles you’re going through, we and the many Psych2goers
are here to listen. If you found this video helpful, don’t forget to click the like button and share this video with
someone who might need it. Subscribe to Psych2go and hit
the notification bell icon for more content like this. And as always, thanks so much for watching.
