What is the Difference between Psychosis and Nervous Breakdown?
Terms «psychosis» and «nervous breakdown / affective reaction» are often confused.
We often hear: «I’ve gone crazy», which means that a man could not restrain himself. In fact, this is a sudden outburst of anger, hysteria, which is characteristic of mentally healthy person. These problems can be corrected both by person himself and by psychologist.
Psychosis is a more complex and difficult condition treated by psychiatrist. It is understood as mental disorder, expressed violation of mental activity, disturbance of perception of real world (attention, memory, thinking) and disorganization of behavior.
Psychoses include schizophrenia, paranoid, manic, depressive, hypochondriacal and alcoholic psychoses. To make it clear until the end, Canadian Pharmacy online will explain these diseases.
At schizophrenia a person experiences delusional ideas, auditory and visual hallucinations, reduced will, apathy (keeps silence, freezes in strange poses), disorder of thinking, perception (can not solve simple problems), poor chaotic speech.
At paranoid disorder, a person is convinced that he is influenced or followed by aliens, sorcerers, snipers, thieves, etc. Actively suspicion develops (up to delusional thoughts) and ideas form that are too valuable for person, also of delusional nature.
At manic psychosis inadequately elevated mood, increased sexuality, feeling love for everyone around, delusional reassessment of oneself («I am the savior of the world»), motor excitement (from aimless neutral activity to aggressiveness, search for conflicts with others) are observed.
Depressive psychosis, on the contrary, is characterized by decreased mood, loss of appetite (up to self-torturing – anorexia), decreased sexual desire, desire for suicide, decline in self-esteem to level of delusional ideas.
Often, manic and depressive psychoses can alternate between each other.
As you can see, by term «psychosis» a number of mental disorders with which psychiatrist works is meant.
Outbreaks of anger, aggression, hysteria, persecution mania are also characteristic of mentally healthy people. Under influence of stress, resources of human psyche are depleted, and all this results in nervous breakdown.
Such a person is able to recognize nervous breakdown, after affective state can experience regret, seeks to make reparation for wrong. For example, if was rude in rage. In addition, he seeks to combat affective outbreaks.
Fighting nervous breakdown is possible. To begin with it is necessary to trace nine signs:
- excessive irritability;
- chronic fatigue;
- it seems that there are only enemies around;
- constant self-criticism;
- other people’s requests cause anger;
- seemingly innocent words of others, spoken in your address, suddenly began to insult you;
- disorders of digestive tract, headaches;
- excessive suspicion, persecution mania;
- depression, constant insomnia.
Nervous Breakdown: What to Do?
- If contradiction between desired and real has reached its climax, and nervous breakdown has happened, the best way is to go through the situation. Do not drive emotions inside, otherwise they will manifest themselves psychosomatic diseases. You need to splash out your emotions and discharge yourself.
- After you have released negative energy, switch your attention – wash yourself, drink water, open the window.
- If possible, sleep, it will help restore energy.
Nervous Breakdown in Another Person: What to Do?
Aggression
With the help of aggressive behavior, human body tries to get rid of high tension. In case of affective state (if aggression is not directed to you) Canadian Family Pharmacy recommends:
- empty the room;
- let a person «let steam out» – scream, beat the pillow, scatter things;
- entrust him work related to physical activity;
- always demonstrate friendly attitude, your participation. Do not blame him: «You always behave like this», «Can you not yell?». It is worth talking about his feelings: «You are now very angry, I understand how you fill. You can think of something together»;
- after the person has let steam out, suggest to wash his face, drink some water. Especially well this method helps with children.
Nervous Tremor
Sometimes appears in persons who have just suffered extreme situation (accident, criminal attack, conflict or another terrible accident). Thanks to tremors, the body relieves accumulated stress. This tremor must not be stopped, otherwise it will cause muscle pains and in future will turn into psychosomatic diseases. Tremor occurs immediately after incident or after a while, the entire body or parts of it are trembling. For example, a person can not hold a pen in his hand, open a lock, light a cigarette. In this situation, you need:
- strengthen tremor so that it passes faster. Take a person by shoulders and shake for 15 seconds. At this time, talk to him, so that he does not take your actions for aggression.
- after it disappears, let the person rest, you can send him to bed.
Hysterics
According to Canadian Family Pharmacy studies, it can last from a few minutes to hours. During it we can observe theatrical postures, a lot of motor actions, high activity, fast emotionally saturated speech, sobbing and screaming. What to do?
- Empty the room, stay with the person alone (if it is safe).
- Surprise the person – pour water, give a slap, drop heavy object (with a crash), scatter papers from the table, you can even shout sharply.
- Lead the person with short phrases and confident tone: «Wash yourself», «Drink some water», «Come here».
- After hysteria, a person experiences breakdown. Take care of his rest, if possible, send him to bed.
As you can see, nervous breakdowns take away lion’s share of energy, harm communication (spoil relations between close people, threaten business, develop people’s conflicts).
How to Prevent Nervous Breakdown?
1. Switch to Something
If you feel that nervous breakdown is near, and soon you will mess things up, you should switch to something else. The stronger your tension, the more powerful switching should be. Make yourself a cup of tea, look at yourself in the mirror, go into another room, wash yourself.
If tension is high, you can pinch yourself, drop something unbreakable, crumple paper.
2. Get Rid of Negative Emotions
Negative emotions (resentment, anger, guilt) should not accumulate in your soul, otherwise they escape from there as diseases. Try to get rid of some of these emotions beforehand – without need do not communicate with unpleasant people, destroy photos where you do not like yourself and where there are people who cause negative.
Also get rid of things that cause negative. Just like you throw out garbage. From anger you can get rid of by sports, yoga, massage, hard physical work around the house. Resentment is cured by forgiveness and guilt – by apology.
3. Use Protective Mechanisms
According to Freud, we have mechanisms that help to fight negative energy, turning it into a positive channel. Humor and creativity are such mechanisms. When we laugh at our fears, failures, unpleasant situations, it immediately becomes easier, just look at the object from the other side. With the help of creativity, writers, poets and artists have long been fighting, for example, with sadness.
Try to draw your anger, your fears or completely your mood. And now what can you draw on such a picture to make it more kind? Make a collage on the topic: how resentment appears and where to put it? If you are sad, remember such a word as altruism. Help someone who feels worse than you – an old lady, who has been forgotten, a mother with many children, who does not have much time, collect things with friends and take them to an orphanage, options are endless.
4. Remember about Rest
For daily rest, 5 – 10 minutes of relaxation are always useful throughout the day. Always give yourself some time to relax after work (changing activities, playing sports, walking, reading pleasant literature, bathing, massages, doing things you love). At weekends, reward yourself (and family) with trips to nature, take longer walks, do not forget about sports and cultural events.