6 Things That Happen To Your Body Right Before You Have An Emotional Breakdown

Don't ignore the symptoms.

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On a technical level, nervous breakdown is categorized as a stressful situation that brings about a person's inability to function normally in daily life.

Nervous breakdowns are usually brought on by stress and anxiety when a person feels overwhelmed in some aspect of their life. Work, relationships, and social stress can all be causes of a mental breakdown.

It's important to note that a nervous breakdown is a not a medical condition; the name itself is not a medical term.

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However, it can be a sign that some mental issues need to be addressed and resolved. It's both your mind and your body's way of telling you that you've reached a limit.

RELATED: The Higher Your Anxiety, The Higher Your IQ (Says Study)

Here are six early warning signs of an emotional breakdown that you shouldn't ignore.

1. Irregular heartbeat

A nervous breakdown can be identified through several physical symptoms, but an irregular heartbeat tends to be the most common.

During a nervous breakdown, you may feel like your heart is pounding out of your chest, making it hard to breathe. This can exacerbate the problem and make it difficult for you to calm yourself down.

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2. Tension headaches

Stress and anxiety can be the sources of intense headaches. They have the ability to manifest themselves physically, and our desire to keep everything in causes our bodies to tense up.

Eventually, this tension moves to the head and causes pain. If you feel yourself slouching or not walking upright, try to correct your posture and give your neck muscles a break.

3. Irregular sleep

When you're stressed out, it can be difficult to get a decent night's rest.

Sometimes, intense stress can cause you to oversleep; you'll wake up still feeling like you didn't sleep very well, or you might feel like just staying in bed all day.

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Insomnia can keep you awake for hours, wake you up several times throughout the night, or wake you up too early.

RELATED: The Real Reason You Can't Fall Asleep On Sunday Nights 

4. Upset stomach

Stress, nervousness, and anxiety can be the root of chronic stomach pains. Your digestive system is directly linked to your mental health, so when it's not working, it's most likely because your brain is having trouble working too.

Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, is triggered by the immune system's response to excess stress levels.

5. Inability to concentrate

Another sign of a nervous breakdown is the inability to concentrate. Your mind has been focused on too many things for too long, and now it's impossible to concentrate on one particular task.

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Stress has the power to increase storage space within the brain and help you concentrate, but chronic stress has the power to do the opposite. In severe cases, stress can actually start destroying the brain's ability to hold memory.

6. Anxiety

Anxiety is caused by fear, usually intense and chronic. Anxiety makes it almost impossible to see past the current moment due to a feeling or sense of paralysis.

Phobias are commonly associated with anxiety because the fear itself causes people to stress out.

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Prescription medication for anxiety is not unheard of, but it's always better to try some natural remedies like yoga or exercise before going to such lengths.

RELATED: 5 Ways You Can Train Your Brain To Stop Anxiety & Panic Attacks —Quickly 

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