What Are The Symptoms Of A Nervous Breakdown?

Trauma Flashbacks

While the aforementioned symptoms of a nervous breakdown manifest in a physical sense, flashbacks to a previously experienced traumatic event are not always visible. Sometimes, these events only occur in the individual's mind, making it more difficult for loved ones or practitioners to identify and intervene. Trauma flashbacks are often a sign of diagnosed or undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder or another mental illness.

When symptoms of a flashback to trauma do present visibly, the patient will likely be experiencing any of the previously mentioned physical symptoms, such as clamminess, sweating, panicking, and tensing of the muscles. However, they may also have widened, darting eyes, a clenched jaw, or show facial signs of extreme distress. The patient may also make abrupt movements in response to sounds or movements by others.

Feelings Of Paranoia

An individual experiencing abnormal, intense and frequent feelings of paranoia may dealing with a nervous breakdown. Paranoia is a term used to describe when an individual has fearful or anxious feelings and thoughts associated with conspiracy, persecution, or threat. Both psychotic disorders and mental disorders can cause paranoia. Feelings of paranoia can stem from delusions, where the affected individual's irrational beliefs and thoughts become so ingrained into their mind that there is no way to convince them their delusions are not true.

An individual who experiences feelings of paranoia tends to have great feelings of suspicion or mistrust in other people and things. These feelings can easily induce a sense of anger, fear, and betrayal. A nervous breakdown can cause feelings of paranoia because it involves the degradation of numerous emotional and mental functions related to assigned meanings and reasoning.