Nervous breakdowns

[henryh]

I just feel right now that I am having a nervous breakdown. I am breathing heavy and just feel like I am being suffocated. I am not sleeping right and just feel like I could crack at any minute. I just feel awful. Have you ever felt like this before and what did you do about it?

[JacktheThriller]

sit in a dark room with ear muffs on and just concentrate on your breath

[Jesda]

Talk to someone about it. Maybe this post helped you, hopefully it did. Otherwise maybe see a doc for some good strong advice.

[bruteforce]

Headbutted a hole in the wall of my office. Then put a poster of the Oracle database structure over it.

[Tannhauser]

Dude, that's a horrible place to be in.

Here's what I would do:

1. In the short term, do some gentle exercise. Get out of the house, go for a walk, drive, occupy yourself in any way that provides a distraction from any issues.

2. As soon as possible, see the doc. There may be a physiological cause for your feelings - hyperthyroidism, for example. If there's no physical cause, he may suggest anti-anxiety drugs, but perhaps psychological methods are an alternative.

3. Think about seeing a therapist, if you can afford it, especially a CBT therapist. If there's no underlying physical issue, a good CBT therapist will (a) give you simple techniques for reducing your physical symptoms, like breathing and relaxation exercises (b) start working through the problems causing the anxiety, such as giving you alternative ways of framing problems.

If you can't afford a therapist - and many would expect to see improvement after say 8-10 sessions - think about reading up on stress, anxiety and how to cope with it.

Looking at your other thread, if family problems are one key cause of anxiety, in a way that's quite hopeful. Your reaction to their behaviour is to some extent something that you can alter and even control.

Good luck with it.

[lzaar]

I once punched my hand into my other hand so hard that I broke it. Was not the right thing to do but at the time it felt right.

[big valsalva]

I'm kinda feeling like I'm in the same boat as the OP. I'm goinng to phone this week for an appointment. Good luck to you, henryh. We can get through this.

[ffemtny]

I'm not one to offer medical advice but definitely see a doc asap. so you can explore some treatment options as noted by others. Not a big fan of suffering needlessly. If it's situational try to deal with the situation in a positive manner. I'm a big fan of the saying that you can't change the world but you can change the way you deal with it. That and be careful of those who waste your time and energy.

[bencher]

Have you made an apt. yet? If not then do so. I really feel that you need to see a doc. We can all tell you what to do but this is the best advice really.

[angie828]

Take a few deep breaths, and then go to the doc. Get to the root of the source that is making you have your troubles.