Nervous Breakdown Test

Informal Diagnosis Methods for Mental Health Crises

A nervous breakdown test is a screening tool that can help you identify serious emotional distress. While they can’t diagnose mental health conditions, screening tools can help you identify symptoms that may indicate a need for professional support.

If you are struggling, or have a loved one that needs help, you are in the right place.

Consider seeking support as a positive rather than a negative; we all need help sometimes, and a nervous breakdown or any other mental health concern does not mean you are broken.

So, what should you know if you might be experiencing a nervous or mental breakdown? This blog post will detail signs of a nervous breakdown and treatment options offered at Icarus Behavioral Health that can help.

What is a Nervous or Mental Breakdown?

“Nervous breakdown” is not a diagnosis, mental health condition, or formal medical term. Instead, people often use the term “nervous breakdown” to indicate severe emotional distress. Although nervous breakdowns aren’t mental health conditions, the two can overlap.

A wide variety of events and circumstances can trigger a nervous breakdown. Potential causes and contributors to nervous breakdowns may include but aren’t limited to traumatic events and severe stress.

Anyone can have what might be considered a nervous breakdown. It is also possible for anyone to recover from one. In many cases, the first step toward getting help for a nervous breakdown is identifying the signs and symptoms you’re experiencing, which is how a nervous breakdown test can help.

Nervous Breakdown Test: Signs and Symptoms

Signs and symptoms associated with nervous breakdowns are usually connected to nervous system dysregulation. When you have a nervous breakdown, you might be in what’s called flight or fight mode. Other people may predominantly experience depression-like symptoms.

Regardless, it is generally seen as a high-stress state, and it can affect both the body and the brain.

In some cases, family members and friends will notice that something is off. However, this is only sometimes true. If you resonate with the following signs and symptoms, it likely indicates a need for mental health support.

Mental and Behavioral Symptoms

Mental and behavioral symptoms are often the most tell-tale signs that it’s time to seek support. However, they can present differently from person to person, and you do not need to experience every symptom to need help.

Many of the mental and behavioral signs of a nervous breakdown are similar to those that individuals with anxiety disorders may endure.

During a nervous or mental breakdown, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms.

• Loss of pleasure or interest in activities you normally enjoy.
• Becoming agitated or irritable more easily than usual.
• Decreased performance at work or school.
• Social isolation or withdrawal from others.
• Difficulty concentrating or focusing.
• Feelings of depression.
• Feelings of anxiety.
• Rapid mood swings.
• Panic attacks.

Physical Symptoms

Nervous breakdowns can affect your body function significantly. For example, immune system functioning may weaken due to the strain of a nervous breakdown. If prolonged, severe stress from a nervous breakdown or any other cause can lead to high blood pressure and other challenges, which is part of why treatment is so critical.

Like mental and behavioral symptoms, physical signs can differ from person to person. For example, one individual may feel restless, whereas another may feel tired and low-energy.

With that in mind, here are some potential physical signs of a nervous breakdown:

• Sleeping too much, not sleeping enough, or poor quality sleep.
• Irregular heartbeat or heart palpitations.
• Gastrointestinal distress.
• Body aches or pains.
• Shaking or trembling.
• Muscle tension.
• Restlessness.
• Sweating.
• Fatigue.

The Role of Mental Health Treatment

Icarus Behavioral Health is a mental health and substance abuse treatment center in New Mexico. We are here to help you overcome a nervous breakdown or work through any other relevant challenges you may be experiencing. In treatment, you will stabilize and start to understand what led you to this point of stress.

Treatment can help you identify the cause of a nervous breakdown, learn coping skills and self-care practices, and avoid future episodes by learning the warning signs. Often, people feel overwhelmed or face signs of stress, depression, anxiety, or negative thoughts and emotions for quite some time before they get help for a mental or nervous breakdown.

Mind and Body Contributions to Mental Health Conditions

Many people forget to rest and take care of or tune into what’s going on with their body and brain. It is important to learn how to better care for and tend to the early signs that your mental health requires some extra care. Icarus Behavioral Health uses a range of evidence-based therapies and treatments to help you do just that.

During the admissions process, you’ll take an intake assessment to help our team understand what’s going on. We can verify your health insurance coverage for free and will work with you to choose a level of care. If you have a substance use disorder, you may attend detox prior to another care level. The risk of substance abuse increases in times of high stress, and recovery is possible.

Treatment Options at Icarus Behavioral Health

We offer multiple levels of care or treatment options so that you can pick the one that’s right for you. Here are the levels of care and a little about what each entails. Some of our clients attend multiple levels of care, whereas others attend just one.

Clients who meet the criteria for chronic medical conditions like depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other diagnoses can also get help for these concerns while in treatment. Even those with high functioning anxiety are at risk, perhaps particularly so, for a ‘nervous breakdown.’

Inpatient

Inpatient is the highest level of care used in mental health treatment. Since inpatient mental health treatment allows you to eat, sleep, and live on-site at your treatment center, you have an opportunity to focus on your emotional well-being and learn new skills while away from everyday life stressors and triggers.

Your treatment schedule will consist of regular groups, individual therapy sessions, recreation, free time, medication management (if needed), and other activities. We offer chef-prepared meals and luxury amenities to make you feel at home.

Partial Hospitalization

Partial hospitalization programs (PHP) offer comprehensive outpatient treatment. A step below inpatient treatment, PHP gives clients the freedom to live off-site but attend care regularly throughout the week. Like in inpatient treatment, you’ll attend regular individual therapy sessions and groups in PHP.

If needed, you can also access other services, like medication management. Most people in PHP commute to their facility on weekdays for at least a few hours daily.

Intensive Outpatient

Intensive outpatient programs (IOP) are less intensive than PHP. The main difference between PHP and IOP is that IOP requires a lower time commitment. Rather than attend care most days, you may attend care a few days per week as an IOP client.

This allows additional time for external obligations, such as work, school, or caring for your family.

Outpatient

Outpatient is the lowest level of care, requiring a time commitment of as little as a few hours per week. Many people use outpatient resources for maintenance post-treatment.

Please note that your unique treatment plan in outpatient and other levels of care will determine the intensity of your care and treatment schedule.

Get Help for a Nervous Breakdown at Icarus Behavioral Health

If you take a nervous breakdown test and realize that you need help, we’re here for you. Contact Icarus Behavioral Health if you’re ready to get help for a nervous breakdown or another concern we are qualified to treat.

Our team is available to answer your questions and help you determine whether treatment at Icarus Behavioral Health is right for you. To get in touch, give Icarus Behavioral Health a call today.

All calls are strictly confidential, so please reach out for support options now!

FAQs on Nervous Breakdown Testing

How do you test for nervous breakdown?

While there may not be a diagnostic test or billing code for a nervous breakdown, talking with a psychiatrist, therapist, or treatment center can help you determine what is going on and what steps to take next. For example, if you may benefit from inpatient or outpatient treatment support options.

Signs such as feeling tired or restless, trouble taking care of oneself, new or persisting symptoms of a nervous breakdown, anxiety as a whole, increased irritability, and intense feelings of stress could all indicate a need for support.

What is the difference between a breakdown and a nervous breakdown?

Many people use “breakdown,” “mental breakdown,” or “nervous breakdown” interchangeably. Usually, a person will say that they’re experiencing a mental or nervous breakdown when their body and mind are under a high level of stress for a long period of time and feel themselves “break” from it internally.

A range of risk factors might raise the likelihood of what one might call a breakdown. Examples of potential risk factors include but aren’t limited to family problems, job loss, overworking or taking little time to rest in daily life, grief and loss, or a divorce.

What medication is used for a nervous breakdown?

Various medications can be prescribed during times of high stress, grief, after a traumatic event, or in similar situations that may lead to what one could describe as a nervous breakdown.

These may include but aren’t limited to antidepressant medications like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and selective norephedrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).