GC: n
S: SPRINGER – https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1471-2296-10-58 (last access: 20 April 2021); NCBI – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2283758/ (last access: 20 April 2021).
N: 1. – nervous (adj): Late 14c., “containing nerves; affecting the sinews” (the latter sense now obsolete); from Latin nervosus “sinewy, vigorous,” from nervus “sinew, nerve”. The meaning “of or belonging to the nerves” in the modern anatomical sense is from 1660s. From 1630s it was used (of writing style, etc.) in the sense of “possessing or manifesting vigor of mind, characterized by force or strength.” But the opposite meaning “suffering disorder of the nervous system” is from 1734, hence the illogical sense “restless, agitated, lacking nerve, weak, timid, easily agitated” (1740). This and its widespread popular use as a euphemism for mental forced the medical community to coin neurological to replace nervous in the older sense “pertaining to the nerves.” Nervous breakdown is from 1866.
– breakdown (n): Also break-down, 1832, “a collapse, a falling apart,” from the verbal phrase (attested by late 14c. in the sense “take down by breaking;” 1831 in the intransitive sense “come down by breaking;” 1856 as “to fail through incapacity, excess emotion, etc.”).
2. A “nervous breakdown” is a term used to describe a period of intense mental or emotional stress.
3. The term was frequently used in the past to cover a variety of mental disorders, but it is no longer used by mental health professionals today nor used in technical discourse. In general, it is not synonymous with or easily translatable into any technically acceptable diagnostic terms or categories.
4. Even though “nervous breakdown” is not a medical term, nor does it indicate a specific mental illness. It is not a normal or a healthy response to stress. It may indicate an underlying mental health problem that needs attention, such as depression or anxiety.
5. Ataque de nervios (“attack of nerves”) is a syndrome among individuals of Latino descent, characterized by symptoms of intense emotional upset, including acute anxiety, anger, or grief; screaming and shouting uncontrollably; attacks of crying; trembling; heat in the chest rising into the head; and becoming verbally and physically aggressive. Dissociative experiences (e.g., depersonalization, derealization, amnesia), seizure-like or fainting episodes, and suicidal gestures are prominent in some ataques but absent in others. A general feature of an ataque de nervios is a sense of being out of control. Attacks frequently occur as a direct result of a stressful event relating to the family, such as news of the death of a close relative, conflicts with a spouse or children, or witnessing an accident involving a family member. For a minority of individuals, no particular social event triggers their ataques; instead, their vulnerability to losing control comes from the accumulated experience of suffering.
S: 1. OED – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=nervous+breakdown (last access: 12 April 2021). 2. WEBMD – https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/signs-nervous-breakdown (last access: 12 April 2021). 3. MAYOCLIN – https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/expert-answers/nervous-breakdown/faq-20057830 (last access: 12 April 2021); TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=nervous+breakdown&index=alt&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 13 April 2021). 4. MAYOCLIN – https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/expert-answers/nervous-breakdown/faq-20057830 (last access: 12 April 2021). 5. DSM – https://dsm.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.GlossaryofCulturalConceptsofDistress (last access: 15 August 2021).
SYN: 1. crisis of nerves, hysterical fit. 2. attack of nerves (depending on context).
S: 1. MW – https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crise%20de%20nerfs (last access: 15 August 2021). 2. DSM – https://dsm.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.GlossaryofCulturalConceptsofDistress (last access: 15 August 2021).
CR: anxiety
