Navigating a Mental Breakdown: Expert Advice from an Anxiety Therapist in Cincinnati

If you’ve just had a nervous breakdown, you might feel disoriented, anxious and confused about what to do next. I’d like to talk a little about what just happened, whether you call it an emotional meltdown or mental break, and how you can get back to feeling okay.

Understanding a Mental Breakdown: Insights from Your Anxiety Therapist in Cincinnati

There’s not an actual diagnosis to define the symptoms, but we generally consider a mental breakdown to be any combination of severe anxiety, panic, depression, insomnia, or other symptoms that interfere with your functioning. This mean you may not be able to eat, go to work, concentrate on work, talk to friends and family, or take care of yourself or your space. It may happen in episodes or culminate in one incident where you might have a panic attack, crying spells, or inability to do much of anything.

What causes a Mental Breakdown?

When we’re living a life in balance, we can generally handle the stresses of life. We can problem-solve, ask for help, and get back to baseline when we’re feeling out of sorts. Sometimes, our ability to handle things is outweighed by the level of stress or intensity of something like anxiety or depression. This can be brought on by our responsibilities, events like loss of a loved one, or bigger issues like systemic discrimination, war, or definitely a pandemic. When we don’t get a sufficient break or can’t return to our normal coping, this can lead to a crisis.

Taking Steps Forward: Practical Strategies from Your Anxiety Therapist in Cincinnati

If you’re in crisis, now is the time to call in supports. Tell your family, friends, therapist, even HR at your work. There is help available, and you deserve to feel better. Feeling alone will make it harder to overcome. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. Even if you’re not sure you’re at the point of being suicidal, go ahead and call. They can help you to think through what to do next. This feeling happens to all of us, and it can truly help to know you’re not alone and connect to another human. If you can’t keep yourself safe, call 911 or go to the nearest ER.

If you’re safe but feeling overwhelmed and not sure what to do, first know that this feeling won’t last forever. Panic attacks subside, crying spells end eventually, and your body will calm down. Once it starts feeling like a wave receding, start to think of your immediate needs. First thing, what does your body need? Water, food, and sleep are priorities.

Taking Steps Forward: Practical Strategies from Your Anxiety Therapist in Cincinnati

Next, get back into a routine. This isn’t a forever routine and doesn’t have to be what “full functioning” looks like to you. But think about what you can do to keep some structure in your days. It’s calming for our brains to know what is coming next, even if it is bed – couch – shower – bed.

Try to get good neurotransmitters flowing. Exercise is a good way to do this, as well as laughter, connecting with others, spending time with pets, playing a game, or checking something small off of a to-do list. You aren’t looking for 100% cure, but feeling 10% better will help with next steps. Take some deep diaphragmatic breaths to calm your body and get to a place you can think.

Review. What is it that’s truly overwhelming? This can be a sneaky answer, because sometimes it’s not obvious. This is where a friend or a therapist can be helpful, as we can’t always see things objectively in our lives. Try to think about what the “thing” was that triggered the breakdown, and work backwards. Jot down all of what contributed – think about all areas of your life and if they were out of whack. Physical health, mental health, creativity, social connections, financial stability, spiritual or emotional wellbeing, etc. Journaling by hand can be super helpful for clarity – just ask the question and let your brain go where it will.

Going through all areas will help to list all the opportunities for change that might help moving forward. Then you can ask the bigger questions – am I living a life that aligns with my values? Am I in the right relationship, career, home? Am I being true to myself and what I prioritize? Where has my mind been focused lately? These types of questions can bring up important information. It doesn’t mean you have to change anything, but sometimes we realize we were putting too much priority on one thing and need to shift. Pondering these questions can give you a plan – like incorporating time in nature. That can be put into a calendar. Our brains like tangible solutions like this.

Meditation can be really useful when coming back from a nervous breakdown. Just five minutes of tuning into your breath can ground you in the moment, in your body, and help to bring you back from your mind and into your next physical steps.

Get care. Friends and family are super important. But they might not know what to do to help, or be too close to your situation to see the bigger picture. Getting in with a therapist, or reconnecting with a previous one, can be a huge relief because someone else can help you navigate your recovery. Especially if you’re having thoughts of self-harm, hurting others, or having symptoms of hallucinations or disconnecting from reality, getting a professional on board will streamline your road to getting better.

Ready to reclaim your mental well-being? Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation with an online anxiety therapist in Cincinnati to explore how counseling can support you. Or call/text 513-461-2045. Online counseling in Ohio and Indiana. Read more about how I can help here.