How long does nervous breakdown last?
A meltdown at work can last anything from an hour for one person to one week for another.
Because nervous breakdown isn’t a diagnosed medical condition, there’s no official definition or criteria to describe it - including its duration.
Instead, there are several risk factors that can cause a nervous breakdown and the more an employee has, the greater the risk of it occurring. These include:
- Undiagnosed or unaddressed mental health condition
- Overwhelmed with responsibilities at how or at work
- Traumatic experiences such as abuse, death or serious illnesses
- Substance abuse as coping strategies
- Inability to release control or to delegate
- Ignoring personal health including hygiene, diet or exercise
Signs of a nervous breakdown
There are many signs that indicate an employee is being overwhelmed by mental health issues. By being able to identify these signs, you’ll be in a better position to offer support and recommend the appropriate professional help.
Nervous breakdown symptoms vary depending on the individual and the underlying cause of the breakdown. But they could be physical, psychological or behavioural. However, common signs to look for include:
- Extreme mood swings
- Panic attacks
- Emotional outburst
- Lack of concentration
- Increased cases of absenteeism
- Reduction in productivity levels
Those experiencing nervous breakdown may also feel:
- Exhaustion
- Paranoia
- Insomnia or unregulated sleep patterns
- Anxious or irritable
- Feeling signs of depression
- Low self-esteem
- Isolated
- Depersonalised
When an employee is experiencing a nervous breakdown, you may find they’ll avoid social functions, call in sick or isolate themselves more often. Keep an eye out for these signs and act accordingly.
Nervous breakdown treatment options
Although not technically a diagnosable condition, those that experience it or something similar are normally diagnosed with a mental illness that underlies the illness including depression and stress or anxiety disorders.
Because it can occur at any time, it’s important to know how to help someone having a nervous breakdown or experiencing an emotional meltdown at work.
In previous pieces, we’ve highlighted ways to reduce stress. The solutions highlighted also apply to support an employee experiencing a nervous breakdown.
Other ways to support your staff include:
- Creating a culture that supports staff to be open about their mental health
- Offering Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Considering changes to working hours and workloads
- Providing mentoring or supervision opportunities
- Creating a ‘safe space’ where employees can have some time out
Nervous breakdown recovery – planning the return to work
It’s not uncommon for an employee to need some time off work to recover when they’re unwell (mentally or emotionally). Upon their return to work after this period of absence, it’s important to have an initial conversation with them to develop a plan.
As well as supporting their return to work, a return-to-work interview is also essential for building trust and engagement with the employee and ensuring that that the
Together with your employee, you’ll create a plan that addresses their health needs and ensures their return to work is supported through appropriate and agreed steps. The plans may include:
- Reasonable adjustments needed for the working environment
- On-the-job support from managers or HR
- Phased return to work if necessary
- Implement a buddy system
- Involve them in office activities
With one in four people suffering a mental health issue at some point in their life—which could spiral into a breakdown—it’s vital that people in your office know how to spot and help out when their colleagues might be under too much strain.
Adult Mental Health First Aid (MFHA) is a two-day educational course. In the same way that people learn physical first aid, MHFA teaches you how to recognise signs of developing mental health issues. Health Assured offer this course in a place that suits you—we can even deliver it on-site.
You’ll learn to:
- Identify the early stages of a mental health problem
- Help someone who’s dealing with a mental health issue
- Help stop someone from self-harming or hurting others
- Help stop mental ill health from worsening
- Help someone have a quicker recovery
- Guide someone towards proper professional help
- Break the stigma of a mental health problem
This training isn’t going to make every issue better overnight. But arming your people with the tools to help out and prevent negative mental health from taking over—even in just one colleague—will save money, save time, and let your people live their lives at work and home without worrying about stress getting too much for them.
Expert support
Contact Health Assured today for more information on mental health first aid training or our Employee Assistance Programme. To find out more information, call us free on 0844 892 2493
