How long do emotional breakdowns last

A nervous breakdown, which is a loss of the ability to function in everyday life, may last for a few hours or a few weeks. The duration of this type of mental health crisis depends on the individual and factors such as the amount of stress leading up to the breakdown, coping strategies, timing and quality of treatment, any undiagnosed or untreated mental illnesses, and the state of a social support system. Good, timely treatment can help minimize the duration and severity of a nervous breakdown.

A nervous breakdown is a state in which a person is no longer functioning normally and is typically brought on by stress and compounded by an inability to cope with stress in healthy ways. This is not an official mental health diagnosis, but it does represent a crisis in dealing with stress that many people face.

The severity of the breakdown, how much it impacts the ability to function, and how long it lasts, vary by individual and contributing factors. Signs that someone is going through a nervous breakdown include drops in performance at work, school or in other activities, not managing responsibilities, not keeping up with hygiene, personal appearance or housekeeping, mood swings, emotional outbursts, difficulty thinking or concentrating, social isolation, and feelings of depression , anxiety and being overwhelmed.

A nervous breakdown requires treatment. Without treatment, it can take much longer to recover and a second incident is much more likely. A nervous breakdown is not a diagnosable mental health condition, and that means there are no official criteria to describe it, including duration.

These mental health crises are highly variable, lasting a few hours for one person or weeks for another. There are many risk factors for having a nervous breakdown, and the more an individual has, the greater the chance is that a breakdown will last longer. These risk factors include:. A nervous breakdown may also vary in severity, which can impact the duration of the episode.

A less severe breakdown that leads to deterioration in function but not total loss of function may go on for some time before a person seeks help. A severe crisis, on the other hand, may be shorter in duration, while recovery and treatment take much longer. In some instances of nervous breakdown, a hospital stay may be necessary for stabilization and treatment. Reasons to hospitalize a patient include talk of suicide or death, violence toward others, self-harm, symptoms of psychosis such as hallucinations and delusions, or a complete inability to function at all.

In all of these cases the mental health crisis is severe and could result in harm to the patient, or the patient may be considered harmful to others.

The duration of the severe episode varies, but most patients can be stabilized within a few days. However, the length of stay in the hospital is often longer. One study found that among thousands of patients with severe mental illness, the average length of hospitalization was 10 days.

Stays are longer when patients are taken to dedicated psychiatric hospitals than when they are sent to regular hospitals. A person going through a nervous breakdown has some control over the duration of the episode. What are the signs of a nervous breakdown? Medically reviewed by Marney A. Share on Pinterest. Treatment and prevention. Causes and risk factors. When to see a doctor. Related conditions. Latest news Could 'cupping' technique boost vaccine delivery?

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