Nervous Breakdown Treatment

Sometimes, life can feel unmanageable. When too many things start to go wrong at once you might not be able to comprehend everything that’s happening. This can have a severe impact on your mental health and, in some cases, make it impossible to maintain day-to-day functioning.

Do you feel like you’ve already lost someone to mental illness, even though they’re right in front of you?

Watching your family member go through a crisis is heartbreaking. You want to help, but how? What’s the best approach when someone is experiencing a severe mental health episode? They might need specialized care that you can’t provide on your own.

If you or a loved one have reached a point where you experience severe difficulty completing daily tasks due to mental illness, you are not alone. In 2024, over 23% of adults in America were estimated to experience a mental health condition. Almost 6% of those reported a serious mental health condition. Sometimes these conditions manifest in frightening ways, like what is commonly referred to as a “nervous breakdown.”

At BrightQuest, we understand that severe conditions don’t discriminate. That’s why we’re prepared to treat people with the most severe and persistent cases of serious conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar, and substance-induced psychosis.

You may have heard the phrase, “I’m afraid I’m having a nervous breakdown” in your personal life or in the media. This vague term is not a medical diagnosis. Instead, it is a colloquial phrase used to refer to a mental health crisis. These usually manifest as the symptoms of different mental health conditions, such as anxiety or depression.

A “nervous breakdown” is used to describe a complete breakdown in functioning due to physical and emotional stress, paired with a lack of coping skills to deal with the situation at hand. Typically, this has an acute cause. It could be a major, stressful life event or change, such as divorce or the death of a loved one. It can also be caused by a combination of stressors, like a series of high-stress work problems. For others, a “nervous breakdown” may indicate a potentially life-threatening mental illness.

The phrase “nervous breakdown” has developed a negative connotation, but it is nothing to be ashamed of. When you’re living with a mental health condition, life can become unmanageable very quickly. Healing from a mental health crisis is possible. In cases of severe mental health symptoms, you truly need the opportunity to rest, rebuild your strength, and develop coping skills.

Every person is unique. Something that causes a mental health crisis for you or your loved one will not necessarily cause the same reaction for someone else. Regardless of how big or small a stressor may seem, they are all valid.

A few common causes of intense stress include:

• Personal tragedy like divorce, foreclosure, or the death of a loved one
• Persistent abuse
• Chronic health conditions
• Lack of sleep or inability to relax
• Financial difficulties, like job loss
• Major life changes, like moving or starting a new job
• Ongoing stress at work or school
• A recent injury that prevents them from participating in daily activities

A mental health crisis looks very different depending on the person and their mental health condition. In a mental health crisis, you’ll experience physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms.

Examples of physical symptoms caused by anxiety or depression include dramatic weight loss or weight gain, extreme fatigue, difficulty getting out of bed, overwhelming debilitating pain, nausea or vomiting, heart palpitations, difficulty breathing, and cold sweats.

Emotional symptoms caused by a mental health crisis can be depressive, like feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, or severe agitation. On the other hand, you could experience symptoms of anxiety, like an inability to stay calm or relax.

In the case of a mental health crisis, psychological symptoms can sometimes be the most jarring. This might include panic attacks, flashbacks to traumatic events, paranoia, delusions, or hallucinations where you see, hear, or feel things that are not real.

At BrightQuest, we treat the person, not the diagnosis. We want to help you get to the root causes of your condition, and help you develop the necessary coping skills. This will get you back to a place where you can manage your day-to-day life and ensure you have the tools for prevention in the future.

We emphasize developing life skills, like cooking, cleaning, household management, and budgeting, to prepare you with routines and strategies you can use in your life after treatment.

Our team uses a combination of proven therapy techniques and medications to manage symptoms. Our overarching approach to therapy is what’s known as milieu therapy. Milieu therapy focuses on peer-to-peer support and accountability. It is based on a sense of community that we build here at BrightQuest. As a part of this approach, we put a strong emphasis on family therapy. We believe that the involvement of the whole family unit directly impacts individual outcomes.

We also utilize cognitive behavioral therapy, where you work one-on-one with therapists to better understand the relationship between your thoughts, feelings, and actions. In this setting, you and your therapist can work together to identify unhelpful thinking and develop alternative behaviors.

At BrightQuest, we use genetic testing to ensure that any medications that are used to supplement the progress made in therapy are the best match for you as an individual.

At BrightQuest we have three levels of residential treatment that are appropriate for someone dealing with this type of extreme stress. Recovery can be a long process, and many of our clients stay with us, while transitioning through the various levels of care, for 12 months.

Intensive Residential Treatment

This treatment is appropriate for people who are in crisis and need help getting to a stable place. Here, you will receive 24-hour supervision from our staff to ensure that all of your needs are met.

We will focus on safety, medication compliance, and activities of daily living. Family therapy will center around psychoeducation, goal setting, and stabilization. Intensive residential treatment will help you get back to your baseline when recovering from a crisis.

Community-Based Residential Treatment

Our community-based residential treatment is designed to help you take steps toward regaining independence while still receiving a high level of daily support. In this stage, you still receive round-the-clock care, but treatment focuses on preparing you for independent living by developing strategies for medication compliance, self-care, coping skills, socialization, and organization.

You’ll have the opportunity to begin exploring what your goals could be for future work and education opportunities. You also begin engaging more with the community and getting out of the treatment environment as a part of group outings.

Semi-Independent Living

In semi-independent living, you will no longer have 24/7 supervision from BrightQuest staff. Instead, a staff member will visit the residence in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings to verify medication compliance and the completion of household chores, and to ensure the overall safety of the residents. Semi-independent living is the recommended entry point for some of our clients.

During this time, you will largely focus on developing life skills, including budgeting, meal preparation, and socializing. Clinical care will occur at BrightQuest offices, and focus on skill proficiency, to prepare you for reentry into school or work.

Continuing Treatment

Once you transition from our residential treatment program, you’ll still have treatment options available to you. Independent living allows clients access to many of the same features as semi-independent living but without daily house check-ins with BrightQuest staff. BrightQuest also offers continuing outpatient therapy and medication management to clients who no longer need structured care.

We have different treatment modalities that provide unique opportunities for healing.

• Adventure therapy provides you with unique outdoor activities, physical challenges, and wilderness experiences that encourage you to work as part of a group.
• Equine-assisted therapy allows you to work with horses to form emotional bonds and develop new life skills.
• Art therapy works as a creative outlet where you’ll get to reduce stress and socialize with others.
• Nutritional counseling and education programming will help you develop healthy eating and physical fitness habits.

If you believe that you or your loved one is experiencing a crisis, mental health treatment is fundamental to reclaiming your life. It might feel like everything is crashing down around you right now, but with the right support, you can develop the skills you need to navigate the aftermath of a mental health crisis

BrightQuest is dedicated to providing world-class care for people living with mental health conditions and co-occurring substance use disorders. We understand that recovery is a holistic process, so we connect clients with education and vocational training to prepare them for their next life phase. To get started, call us today at 619-466-0547.

BrightQuest: Working Towards a Brighter Tomorrow, Today.