How do you know if your depressed or about to have a metal breakdown? Do you realise before hand or does it just hit you one day? Are there any warning signs to look out for?
Posted by deleted_by_reddit@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 12 comments
As the title suggests do you know if your on the brink of mental collapse or do you just break down?
Nuker-79@reddit
I had a mental breakdown, didn’t see it coming, just hit me like a brick wall. I can’t say the same for everyone though.
Bagel_Love_@reddit
Did you take any medication to get better?
Nuker-79@reddit
I ended up on anti-depressants for a while but came to the realisation that it was situational depression caused by my now ex wife. I divorced her and the depression went away naturally.
Bagel_Love_@reddit
🤣the way you said that. What antidepressant did you take and do you think they helped you in the beginning like maybe something you needed to get started to get to a better place did you have any side effects? I’ve never had anxiety or depression and now I’m stuck in this loop where it literally feels like you’re losing your mind and nothing is getting me out of it so I’m thinking about starting Zoloft, but I am terrified because I always hear about people saying that you get worse before you get better. I don’t know. I had a lot of situational depression, even though I don’t think I realized it. I just had like a lot of things that I didn’t like that were really hard for me to get out of similar sounding to probably how it was with your wife just things in life that were hard to change because I couldn’t afford to in different things, but I think after a while everything just built up and more got piled on top and then you crack
Nuker-79@reddit
From my personal experience, they didn’t really help as much as I thought they would, what seemed to help a lot for me was to get some counselling alongside the medication. It helped me process all of the information I had inside my head and allow me to accept that the cause of my problem was what it was. I highly recommend it, but as always, you will get out what you put in, so be open and honest with yourself and the councillor from the off and you should get where you want to be. I really hope you feel better soon.
Bagel_Love_@reddit
Thank you I’ve had a therapist for a year and it really hasn’t done anything because I think my nervous system is just like such a height and state that I’m stuck in a loop and it doesn’t shut off. Oh some of my stuff is situational but some of the things I really came hard out of nowhere have actually resolved, but I think they just made me crack so I’ve heard that sometimes when you get to that point, the antidepressant can make everything quieter for you and Calm, which is supposed to like help you get everything back on track. I guess make it more possible for you to function to start getting your stuff together. Do you remember what SSRI and dose you took and if it gave you side effects in the beginning?
Nuker-79@reddit
I can’t recall what I was taking as it was a few years ago now, when I posted my comment I was already off the medication. If you speak to your doctor, they will usually try you on certain types first before moving to others if there is no improvement. I’m sure you will be in capable hands. Leave it to the professionals. Just concentrate on yourself and what you can influence, leave the rest and don’t think about it. One less thing on your plate so to speak.
Bagel_Love_@reddit
Thank you that is good advice and hope you continue to do better and better
roboratka@reddit
Depression is like a frog slowly being cooked. It’s a very subtle progression so you need to compare several months or years to how you are today. Any changes in moods, thoughts, feelings and the activities you do. Are you feeling less motivated, less hopeful or even thoughts that being dead is probably better than being alive.
I describe mine as having no colour, feels darker and difficult in getting pleasure in experiences that other people find joy doing.
The only good thing now is that I am aware of it and try to manage it.
Bagel_Love_@reddit
Did you take any medication to get better asking for myself?
CheeseBeansAndToast@reddit
I didn’t realise until it was too late for me and I was already burntout. For me, things I know to look out for now are:
Brain fog stopping me from even comprehending how to complete a basic task.
Episodes of panic.
Feeling intellectually unable to complete tasks I previously had no issue with. I felt that I had become stupid.
Being tearful.
Believing that supervisors are going to put me on an action plan/disciplinary procedures without any ounce of this being reality. (I was one of the higher performing people, why on Earth would I be at risk of discipline?)
Lack of being able to plan, leading to being completely overwhelmed. I couldn’t even figure out how to write a basic to-do list.
Looking for ways to get out. If I quit, how can I pay my mortgage? But of course I was unable to even come up with a viable solution.
It came to a head when I was told to complete a list of actions. I stood up, calmly told the supervisor that I was having a breakdown, and was found later in the corridor crying. I was embarrassed, definitely.
I was then signed off for a month. Should have taken at least two or three because when I returned I had two further “mini” episodes but I was able to remain at work.
Started this all in July (signed off mid July, but I believe the issues had started more than a month previously). I only now after Christmas feel like a functional human again, and I’m in a supervisor position and am coping fine.
The human mind is weird, but you have to look after it. I’ve never had anything like this before, but it was caused by two departments trying to make me complete full time work for both. I broke.
If you think there is a real risk of breaking down, please talk to your GP. They understand this stuff. It may benefit you to take a couple of weeks off now for stress, rather than two or three months off later on down the line while you attempt to recover from deeper burnout.
Note: mine was burnout, not depression or anxiety. They can go hand in hand though, you will know of you suffer from long-term mental health challenges that may put you more at risk of breakdowns for reasons other than burnout, the most important thing to do is act when your mood starts to change, especially if it doesn’t seem possible for you to “get back to normal”.
Bagel_Love_@reddit
What did you do to get better? Did you take any medication or for the therapy? I think this happened to me then it led to an increase in my OCD new sudden depression and anxiety and now I have been out of my job for two years and I’m stuck.