Hi yggy,
Well it is a mental breakdown but like "mental illness" it is a term we and many others don't warm to.
To me MB is a term meaning loss of function from your common self. Like machines we need maintenance, care and servicing. Some of us are less robust than others, more sensitive and we fall into a group of individuals that, with certain events happening to us, we lose our ability to continue on for a time. Mental breakdown, when we our machinery needs to be replaced by others until we are stripped down, inspected and made serviceable again albeit with still worn parts.
The word breakdown is ok, the word mental we cringe at. But all these unsavory terms are just words. Like learning to handle bullies on social media. When we are hurt by them we tend to react but if we were trained to sit back and say to ourselves "bullies thrive on responses, if I react badly he has succeeded in his mission" we wouldn't reply.
So in effect there are many things we, the unwell, need to find like tolerance, to be less sensitive, to take time to slide into social events slowly and fit in, to take a breath before typing, to accept medication needs and the stigma...and many more depending on the individual.
Reviewing how I reach my own ideas on coping and semi recovery a lot has to do with logic. Medication and therapy for me many years ago has had the effect that emotions were taken out of the equation. Emotions are often a large suitcase that should be tossed in the river. Logic however, like when looking back to what sort of person you were in the past as being "counter-productive" has been a process I hold firm. This has been possible only through gaining confidence. The stepping stones- recover from breakdown, learn from it eg review meds, visit GP often, psych etc, don't repeat the triggers like working too hard, stop worrying about my estranged daughter (brainwashed by her mum) as (logic) worrying wont win her over and so on.
Then positive thinking plays a vital role. eg When mourning how you used to be when younger, you could view your new person as an interesting transformation. Every negative has a positive side. this new person that has lost some of the abilities of old, could develop other abilities not tried by the younger person. Like painting. If that was something you always wanted to do but haven't tried it, you could now try it and you would also possess the wisdom of being older. Hope that makes sense. Logic is a lever.
Tony WK
