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This is the introduction to my pamphlet entitled Doing -Thinking -Feeling- In the World and serves as an introduction to this blog. You migh...

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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

“I’m going to have a nervous breakdown.”

“I’m going to have a nervous breakdown.”




Brian Lynch

I remember when I was thinking about going into medicine I wondered what a “nervous breakdown” was. I mention this as many people still use this phrase. In these few words, I want to help us understand that we can help ourselves by being more understanding of our mental states.


First, if you have ever had that thought: “I am going to have a nervous breakdown” I would like you to think about how you felt at the time. Were you angry? Was there a lot of fear? Usually, it is the case that there seems to be “too much” going on in our lives that is stimulating our unpleasant feelings that we become very overwhelmed. Anger, fear, disgust, distress, and shame take over. Doom looms in the future. We think, “What is on the other side.” We don’t know. We see disaster in the world but what will become of our mind? We know the phrase “nervous breakdown” but have we ever seen someone have a “nervous breakdown?” True enough people “shut down.” They do have radical changes in their behavior and they do become hospitalized and many of us have lived through unfortunate circumstances. I may be being unfair, but you may have a clear idea of a “nervous breakdown”, even so, and for those that don’t I want to say we can be much clearer in our thought and if so, much better off.


Above all, there is much more help available now. The first rule is that we now know that simply having someone to talk to in troubled times who will not judge you is very important. Next, I ask you to consider the truth of the statement “that it is almost as equally difficult to pursue a path of healing as it is to, as one friend said, “give up.” I say this as I think sometimes when we say we are going to have a “nervous breakdown” it is at those times that we want to “give up.” But what does that lead to? Running way? To where? Blaming ourselves for our problems? Where does that get us? Using drugs to drown our sorrows? What does that accomplish? And then a good solution, blaming others for everything. That fixes things? All these things take a lot of energy and are what constitute giving up and what constitutes a “nervous breakdown” for many and in great part.


Now, I want to be very clear it is very tricky, as I do not think we “choose” to “give” up.


I said it takes as much “energy” to do one or the other, to “give up” or keep going. It is an “energy” balance and I believe it is driven by our emotional state. How overwhelmed are we by our unpleasant emotions at any given time? Is there a solution? Can we control them? We can, to a point by working today build strong relationships with others so we do have that friend, spouse, or special other that we can always confide in and then ultimately so we can build the inner strength to calm ourselves, calm our specific feelings, when needed in the middle of the storm if we find ourselves alone. Not easy but practice, practice, practice.


Copyright 2010

R

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