(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, 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 of time
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 effected 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 is a good place 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 a 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 feel an intense emotion and like 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, 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, poor hygiene.
If you suddenly find yourself neglecting
your personal 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's 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.
Number six, difficulty breathing.
Do you often and 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 calm 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,
that 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
every 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.
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
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And as always,
thanks so much for watching.