When I was a counselor at the last community college, I had one student come in her PJs, talking a 1000 words per minute. She wasn't sure what time of day it was, but she was hungry and sat opposite of me. She opened up her bag of cut grapefruit, and could not formal coherent sentences. She yelled, cried, and pleaded. At that moment, she and I knew what had to happen.
What led her to reach her counselor for help? It turns out that she had a few red flags that ultimately pushed past her mental stability. In case you're not sure if you're on the verge of one, you may already be feeling the symptoms.
1) You have erratic behavior that disrupts relationships with loved ones and interferes with work or school. If you're making decisions that aren't rationale like in the case of this student who drove to the community college in her PJs, or calling a friend but not making sense, then it's time to seek help.
2)You stopped taking your medications. One of the biggest reasons clients stop taking their medication is because it didn't make them feel right. Instead of speaking with their doctor, they thought they could just stop without any consultation or professional medical advice. It turns out that this is the most dangerous way your body reacts to a stopping of medication, ultimately leading to a breakdown.
3)You put yourself and others in danger. If you have feelings of harming yourself or others, it's time to seek help immediately. The best way to take this step is if you are a friend reading this, you need to immediately call them and call their family and friends. Why? The most difficult part of someone who may having thoughts of suicide is reaching out. They know they can but the presence of a friend or family member greatly reduces their thoughts.
4)Irregular sleeping patterns. Up all night for 3-4 days at home can be detrimental to your sleep hygiene. Your body requires rest but in a proper way. Your body has a built in rhythm that requires maintenance. If your don't maintain a consistent sleep schedule, it triggers psychosomatic health concerns that can be in the form of aches and pains on the body, lead to bad eating choices, and increase anxiety and depression.
5)Ignoring the body's symptoms. Related to sleeping is the body giving off signs that you need rest and care. Ignoring the anxiety like a rapid heart beat, or slow motor skills like everything feels super slow, out of body experiences, lethargic all the time, hyper all the time, apathy, neuroticism, all indicate your body may be telling you, a mental breakdown is coming soon.
Preventing The Breakdown
1) Connect with as many family and friends as much as possible. Time and time again research has shown that the stronger your support system, the more likely you will succeed in the moments of challenges no matter how insurmountable. This is because support systems increase resiliency and give people hope to get through the most difficult times. Ok so how do we do this? Start with a text with a friend, post on your social media something positive, or do a call to action to friends "This week I want to connect with my friends in a meaningful way. Please let me know if you want a friend to talk to."
2) Speak with your doctor regarding your medication and connect with a counselor/therapist who can provide you a safety plan. If you connect with your medical team, you have instantly created not only your medical support, but they are your contingencies when things go awry. There are people designed to help you and this is the most important piece you need to understand because even if you don't think anyone is listening, there is and connecting with a mental health counselor increases your chances of success. Therapists can work with you to design brilliant safety plans that don't require a lot of planning and preventing a mental health breakdown from occurring.
3) Practice self care. If you need ideas, this blog has a few good ones. The simplest step is to recognize when things become overwhelming. Your body will tell you and listen to your mind. Close your eyes and scan through your body. If you feel out of sync, anxious, depressed, it's time to utilize self care. Here are some easy temporarily relieving free things to do: warm shower, up and down stairs for 1 minute to increase metabolism and energy, drink an herbal tea like chamomile, mint tea, watch funny YouTube videos to increase happiness which increases the immune system, eat the greenest salad before having that not so good meal, increase probiotic intake like yogurt or kombucha as research shows, gut is tied to all parts of your body including your mental health, do 10 pushups/10 jumping jacks, dance to your favorite song in the most wacky way, and set a timer for 10 minutes and clean your home to help create outer order and inner calm.
Share this with a friend who needs help or friends who can help the friend suffering from the mental break.
Always reach out and ask for help.
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