I had a chance to talk with a person who has had a nervous breakdown. When he talked about his experiences, he would remember the pain and he would cry. He is thankful, however, that he has been able to overcome that dark phase in his life. Today, he is receiving proper medical attention.
This just goes to show that nervous breakdowns are not irreversible. People can and do recover from nervous breakdowns. If you think you are nearing the end of your rope, if you feel like a nervous breakdown is imminent, or if a loved one has suffered from a breakdown, seek medical help. Nervous breakdown may not have a standard cure. Nevertheless, the underlying conditions that may lead or have led to nervous breakdowns can be treated.
Before a person receives any treatment, he would have to undergo an extensive assessment. It is important for the psychiatrist or the psychologist to determine the underlying cause of the breakdown. Only if the cause is properly determined can the doctor prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Therapy
Therapy is one of the most basic forms of treatment for nervous breakdowns. The following are some of the therapeutic methods used.
Aromatherapy, Yoga and Massage Therapy
These are complementing therapeutic procedures that are used to help the patient relax. In aromatherapy aromatic herbs are used to set the mood. In yoga, the patient is taught how to meditate or concentrate so he can put his mind at rest. In massage therapy, the body is subjected to a soothing massage so that tension would leave and the body could relax.
Nervous breakdowns are usually a result of extreme stress and chronic anxiety. Through the above mentioned therapeutic procedures, relaxation can be induced. The body and mind will be given relief from the ravages that constant agitation has wrought on them.
Psychotherapy
Medical professionals also use their most effective form of treatment – psychotherapy. This type of treatment is something that is commonly used among all types of psychological disorders. It doesn't have negative side effects, and it has been proven effective in helping patients overcome underlying issues that have led to their breakdown.
Psychotherapy is an interpersonal and relational therapy that aims to help a patient deal with everyday problems. The goal of psychotherapy is to increase the person's sense of well-being and to reduce the effect of past painful experiences on the present.
The Forms of Psychotherapy Include:
Psychoanalysis: This type of psychotherapy is attributed to Sigmund Freud. Freud believed that a person's past experiences – particularly those that occurred during a person's childhood years – have a significant effect (positive or negative) on the person's adult years. Freud, however, was more concerned with sexual patterns of behavior. He based his study in 5 stages of sexual development. If a need in a certain stage is not gratified, then the person will manifest certain fixation.
Psychoanalysis is useful in the treatment of patients suffering from nervous breakdown because childhood and past experiences may explain a person's predisposition to the condition. Once the issues arising from past experiences are resolved, a person may have a better chance of adapting more effective stress-coping mechanisms and thus prevent another breakdown in the future.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: This type of psychotherapy is focused on constructing as well as reconstructing the cognitive and emotional maps of a person. Medical professionals use techniques to determine the person's way of thinking, feeling and behaving. Oftentimes, they use the interview as a means of assessing the patient. Once the thinking, feeling and behaving patterns have been identified, the therapist will be able to help the patient get rid of those negative patterns that make him especially vulnerable to stress and the subsequent nervous breakdown.
Hypnotherapy: Hypnotherapy refers to hypnosis therapy. Hypnosis is used to accomplish several things. It can be used for helping the patient relax. It can also be used as a diagnostic procedure; the therapist may put the patient under hypnosis to discover why the patient thinks the way he does and what possible events may have triggered the breakdown. Hypnosis may also be used in ‘rewiring’ the Brain – specifically the subconscious – so that the patient's irrational perception or thinking patterns (even those that he takes for granted) may be corrected.
Expressive Therapy: This type of treatment is used by medical professionals to help the patient express their feelings in a more positive way. A patient can, for instance, use drama, music, writing, and other forms of art as their tools of expression. This treatment is very effective in cases where the patient tends to suppress what he is feeling or has no healthy outlet for his emotions.
Counseling: This is basic talk therapy. The counselor acts as a guide or advisor to the patient. He will become the patient's sounding board; the patient will therefore be able to analyze his own thoughts, emotions and behavior without fearing any judgment. Through the counselor's help, the patient will be able to spot whatever faulty thinking patterns he has and take steps to correct them.
By TTS Holistic Counselor Mehdi Jaffari
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