Have you ever thought you were having a nervous breakdown?

Yes but in Europe we call them burn-outs. The doctor or shrink gives an excuse and one stops working but collects salary. Then one sleeps and sleeps and continues therapy and eventually the mind resets and one can function. You might need to be active about putting normal functioning back in your life, gradually. Friends and family know about it when you tell them. Or not. You're not supposed to discuss it in professional context. It all depends just how much functioning you have have lost.

Are you the poster crazy for more space while caring for the unemployed gimp boyfriend?

That sounds so civilized R1.

No, I am not, r2

Yes. I am right now

Only every other week

The doctors must continue justifying the breakdown. The excuses are not suppose to leave HR, but they do (illegally). After a number of months they may being to make cuts in the salary. Working class professions experience discrimination more often than professionals. The shitty manager or small business owner will obviously hate having someone on the books but not working. They will try to fire. Into the professions, one isn't bothered and has the space to get better, or not. The state will eventually give an ultimatum - file for disability or go back to work.

So much for the technical matters.

Psychically - well I'm not a shrink so can't speak in general terms about breakdowns and burnouts but they are always increasing in the work force.

OP are you working? Full time? Part time? Do you know you rights in this regard?

r7 I work full time as an adjunct professor

Thank you. Well do you know your rights? I would suggest you find out, but discreetly. As an adjunct, in USA? I guess you may have few rights but maybe at a woke university you have promises to be rehired after an "illness"?

Can you survive without income and for how long?

Also you must find a therapist immediately and explain everything.

Maybe there are medicines that could help.

You are probably overworked and underpaid and your fragile situation may be completely understandable to an empathetic person, so don't beat yourself up.

Yes in my 20s. Went off my SSRIs and got increasingly more and more anxious until I felt completely out of control and couldn’t stop crying (MARY!!!!). I vaguely remember calling my parents, my father said to go to the ER immediately. I must have sounded crazy. Psychiatrist saw me at the ER, gave me some Xanax and put me back on the SSRIs.

I’ve pretty much blocked that period out of my memory at this point (it lasted a few weeks) and I’m still on meds 15 years later.

Seek help if you can OP. Hugs to you.

Clinically, there is no such thing as a 'nervous breakdown'. There are a number of diagnoses, usually anxiety or depression, that the general population labels as this.

In my university there was a rolling wave of burnouts for a decade - including deans and directors. But as mentioned we are protected and this was among tenured profs. Mine was 9 months, a number of years ago. Functioning returned but it was different afterward. I was never diagnosed as depressed by the way and saw a shrink for years. My department experienced mobbing combined from the top town and we lost several faculty through moves, and early retirement. There are lots of shitty things in life that can SAP all your productive energy, unfortunately. Usually its insane narcissists or sociopaths who are making trouble for everyone, and have power.

* mobbing coming from the top down

What do you mean by "a nervous breakdown", OP? People use that expression to mean many things from I'm losing my patience to I'm having a psychotic break. What are your symptoms?

So you have to learn to manage in these situations and protect your energy. It used to called nervous exhaustion as well. You are exhausted by the bullshit and the rat race.

Snap out of it!

r14 depressed, apathetic, overwhelmed, unmotivated, unable to complete very basic tasks. I'm 39 and feel like life won't get better, and my life is over.

If you've been depressed on and off all your whole life you likely have attachment issues which are underlying it and are playing a big role in what you're going through now. There are online assessments or you could get take an AAI.

Well it sounds like deep depression more than professional burnout but everything is connected. Can you go see a shrink or therapist.

Yes, r19, I've been meaning to make an appointment for a long time. But it's one of the tasks that feels impossible at the moment, and I keep putting it off

Are you trolling us? Just make the appointment. How can you keep your shit together in front of 20 year olds if you can't make a health appointment.

Oh do fuck off, r21

You really should consult a doctor or licensed therapist. DL is a fantastic source of entertainment but not really qualified to address your issues.

Right now.

I have a chronic, worsening medical condition and cannot find a doctor anywhere - I am about to lose my mind and/or curl up and die.

r23 thanks. I'm here looking for posters will similar experiences. Curious how they pulled themselves out of something like this

Seems like good news, OP, because it sounds like you're not having a nervous breakdown but the most common symptoms of depression. I say good news because depression can be managed with therapy and/or prescription medication. Don't wait, call a doctor and tell them what you told us, they'll know what to do. If it persists, talk to them again. It's a good idea to start talk therapy concurrent with medical treatment to determine the cause of your depression. Good luck, OP!

Thank you r26

OP, I empathize with how you're feeling. I'm 56 (but look 60), and I'm at this very weird juncture in my life. It's been going on for about 18 months. I just don't have any motivation to do the things I KNOW I should do to "snap out of it."

A friend asked me the other, if I was happy or content. I said content, but now when I really think about it, I'm not even that! I'm finding it so difficult to find the joy in life, work, people etc.

When I was younger, I could somehow manage to pull myself up by my bootstraps and move on. These last 18 months have been a very weird period in my life and I've just stopped making an effort.

OP, you have posted regularly on DL for at least a year about how you're certain you're schizoaffective but your doctors simply won't believe you, that you're "paralyzed with fear" to the point you can't do your job, and all sorts of other mental and emotional concerns that you want help and advice about.

We can't help you. DL can maybe make you feel better in the short term, but there is no forum on the internet that can help you until you (a) get a real diagnosis that you (b) accept as real and (c) commit to actual treatment for that problem.

If you have the job that you claim to have in other threads, then I know you have the resources and the ability to get real, genuine help.

The last time I suggested you go see a professional (last summer, I believe) you acted like I was the meanest person on the planet for saying such a thing. I don't know why you don't want genuine help, but you need it, and others on here have said so as well. It's long past time you saw a doctor and actually listened to what they said.

[quote]you acted like I was the meanest person on the planet for saying such a thing.

Knowing myself, I'm sure there's a little bit of context that you've left out

Yes, in college.

I had a roommate who would not stop playing Janet Jackson music. I was losing my mind. I moved the fuck out.

Thanks for the laugh, r31!

Yes, right now and have been for a few months. I like to read and paint and I love music, but even those things don't motivate me lately. I have to reset myself somehow. Its easier said than done though. You aren't alone OP.

[quote]Knowing myself, I'm sure there's a little bit of context that you've left out

You were mad that I remembered who you were from one of your many previous threads and you accused me of being a troll. You accused three or four others of trolling, but they weren't, either.

There wasn't any reason to tell r21 to fuck off. This is Datalounge and that's a normal Datalounge comment, and he's right. A quick trip to the ignore-dar shows that you've been posting about this kind of thing since at least 2021, and you haven't gotten help once? Is that true?

Look, you can get mad at me and r21 and everyone else all you want, but if you're for real, then stop posting on DL (and the other forums you post these kinds of threads on; I'm sure there's more than one) and go to the doctor.

Thanks r33

You're welcome, OP. I hope things get better for you soon.

Every time I talk with a client.