Vacation is what you take when you can't take what you've been taking any longer. - Lion from Wizard of Oz

I don't know about anybody else but I LOVE the Wizard of Oz. I  watched it every year as a kid. I'm sure my brother and parents got awful tired of  it, but I loved to dream about being "over the rainbow." In fact, all my life growing  up, being very ill with epilepsy, it became a theme song when I thought I would  never get any better. My brother used to taunt me saying, "Can you sing solo? So  low I can't hear you?" I don't think he understood and perhaps still doesn't  understand the importance this song has had for me and still does.

There's a saying that the grass is always greener on the other side. Most times  when people quote that they mean to say that nothing is different "over there." it  is my belief that sometimes the grass IS greener on the other side.

Sometimes people need a break. Whether it is for emotional, physical, mental, or spiritual respite, or all of the above, I think sometimes people need to see the greener grass on the other side...if only for a short time to get their focus back.

I've been struggling for some time now, having to cut times completely from my family of origin for my own sanity's sake.  Emotionally, mentally, and spiritually I've been breaking down.  Even today, I am breaking and wondering how long I can go on. But I keep reaching out for help and that is part of my start over the rainbow.  I have my pastors, my counselor at the hospital, I see my family doctor once/month and I have a psychiatrist I see once/month.  There may be a truckload of emotional pressure coming at me right now, but I know from past experiences, that this to shall pass.  I WILL NOT GIVE UP!!!!!  I refuse to let anybody or anything stop my growth and moving forward with my life.  If I can overcome 30+ years of abuse, I can overcome the emotional pressure I am under right now.  How?  By taking what I call a MENTAL VACATION.

What is a Mental Vacation?  It is when I take the time for me I need to get back on my feet.  I used to have to be hospitalized in a psychiatric ward for this, but I've learned so many wonderful coping techniques on my own that I have my own Metal Vacation plan to implement here at home now.

My mom often says that a change is as good as a rest and a rest is as good as a change.  Me, I don't need anymore change. I need some stability.  I think the majority of people need some form of stability or the world would spin out of control...or at least the people on it would spin out of control.

But how do you know when you NEED that vacation the Cowardly Lion quoted? For  each individual the signs will be different.

For me, some of the symptoms include:
-racing thoughts that you can't stop
-black thoughts unable to think or say what is on your mind
-sweating
-decreased appetite...which may be good for some but when you have  hypoglycemia it can cause problems
-increased sleeping
-increased nnightmares and flashbacks
-incrased body aches
-tension, headaches
-confusion
-indecisiveness
-uncontrollable crying
-self-harm
-lack of personal hygeine and house cleaning
-lack of interest in such things as my hobbies, including the computer

These are just some of MY symptoms. Your symptoms may be totally different.  The important thing is to RECOGNIZE the symptoms. When you recognize the  symptoms that's when you MUST ACT before you break.

From the website http://www.professional-counselling.com/nervousbreakdown_panic_attack.html#mozTocId456860

The following symptoms may appear in a person heading toward a nervous or mental breakdown:

A 'mental' or 'nervous breakdown' may have started with these symptoms over time, or they may have caught you out completely:

• irregular heart beat
• tensed/painful muscles
• clammy hands, sweating
• dizziness/light-headedness
• trembling/shaking - you may feel these are the most embarrassing symptoms of a nervous breakdown as it draws attention and people may comment on it
• irritability and angry outbursts
• upset stomach
• crying easily, and seemingly endlessly, at the drop of a hat - male or female!  No need to be embarrassed.
• panic, fears and phobias (see: what causes fear and top 10 phobias)
• feeling unable to cope with tasks you would not have thought about twice before
• loss of pleasure
• exhaustion
• sexual problems - loss of libido (female/male), impotence
• sleep problems
• withdrawal from loved ones

It is not surprising then that often a nervous or mental breakdown goes hand-in-hand with depression

What are the signs of a nervous breakdown?

What would you notice about someone on the verge of a nervous breakdown or 'burnout'?

• difficulties focussing
• agitation or very 'flat'
• worrying about all kinds - if unusual for the person - a sure sign of burnout
• difficulties concentrating
• doesn't seem their 'normal' self
• crying unexpectedly and/or uncontrolably
• complaining about tiredness (lack of sleep being just one reason)
• irritability, anger
• talking less
• seeming generally less resilient

If you are the boss, manager, partner, husband/wife of someone showing these signs of a nervous breakdown, it might help to have a conversation about it.  State very gently that you have noticed that they appear to be struggling a bit and reassure that you will do all you can to help them get over their emotional breakdown.

A 'complete nervous breakdown’?

Now everything feels too much - the telephone ringing, post dropping through the letterbox, excited children, crowds, all appear to increase your symptoms, and you just want to run away, hide or explode with anger.

Other symptoms of a nervous breakdown are:

• feeling ‘hyper-alert’ - 'jumpy'
• worrying about the smallest things
• suffering from the effects of lack of sleep
• feeling exhausted and crying ‘at the drop of a hat’
• worrying about the effect on people around you
• feeling guilty because you are such lousy company!

You may also want to have a look at my page on adrenal fatigue symptoms to see if your symptoms fit a bigger pattern.

(NOTE:  ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR OWN FAMILY PHYSICIAN IF YOU BEGIN TO FEEL OVERWHELMED.  S/He is the one who knows you and your body better than anybody and how to treat what is going on.)

Reaching out for help is a sign of strength and a sign of some stability. Who you  call is your choice: a friend, family member, doctor, specialist, distress line, etc.  The important thing to do is reach out.

Everybody needs a vacation from time to time. I never need a physical vacation  because I am unable to work. But more often than most people I need what I call  a MENTAL VACATION. That's when I end up in a place called SAFE BEDS or the Psyche Ward.  And there is NO SHAME in going to a psyche ward.  It is a place you can get help, find answers and learn coping techniques. They are full of people who care about you and your well-being.

The Lion, though Cowardly, was wise. When you can't take it any more, it is time to take a step back and perhaps take a vacation. It doesn't have to be a long one.  A weekend, a day, a week. It doesn't take much time for many to get their wind back and get back into the swing of things.

Don't ignore the signs that you are overdoing it and overdoing you.

From the following websites, are just SOME of the things to watch for:
www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-sympto
ms-of-a-nervous-breakdown.htm
Thus symptoms may differ for describing a nervous breakdown, but one can look  for the following behaviors as possible symptoms that might precipitate a  psychotic episode:

Disinterest in work or family life

Disinterest in social life or alienation from previously close friends and family

Sleep disruption or much longer periods of  sleep

Significant changes in appetite, such as eating too little or too much 

Paranoid thoughts, such as the thought people are trying to harm you

Thoughts of  grandeur or invincibility

Feelings of persistent anxiety or panic attacks

Hearing  voices Seeing people who are not there

Thoughts of dying or wish to die

Exhibiting  strong or violent anger

Having flashbacks to a prior traumatic event

Increasing  dependence on alcohol or drugs Inability to pursue a normal life, normal activities  or normal relationships.


www.am-i-ok.co.uk/checklist/drive.htm

1. My drive and interest are changing
I feel pretty disinterested in just about everything lately. I cannot seem to get on  with things the way I used to.

I just can’t seem to make up my mind about anything these days. I never had  difficulties like this before.

I feel tired all the time – I just can’t be bothered to make food and I even have to  force myself to wash. Lately I can’t be bothered to get out of bed and my friends  tell me the place looks like a rubbish tip.

Nothing gives me very much pleasure lately - I feel disinterested most of the time  even about things I used to like.

I couldn’t care what I eat these days, and I think sometimes I don’t eat anything  for quite a while, but I’m just not hungry. I may be losing weight.

Previously, I could cope well with difficult tasks in my work/ in school and also  with my appearance or housekeeping but now, without any clear reason, I am  beginning to mess up here.

2. Changes in my concentration
New difficulties with my concentration

Lately, often I can't stay with others' logic or ideas.

I have been having difficulty in keeping my attention focused.

I cannot understand it. I used to be able to think about several things at once,  now I can’t even keep my mind on two things at the same time.

I find it difficult to keep a conversation going. I sort of lose what the other person  is saying and sometimes also my own thoughts.

3. Changes in the way I think
Although I never used to, now I find that I jump to conclusions more often than I  used to.

These days I believe that others are causing all the bad things in my life.  Sometimes I feel they are doing it on purpose.

I sometimes get thoughts racing through my mind and I can’t stop them.

I’m daydreaming a lot more than I used to.

Sometimes my thoughts get sort of stuck and I just can’t go further.

I’m finding it more and more difficult to plan things and work out what may  happen in certain situations.

My memory never used to be the way it is now – I often can’t remember things.

4. I'm changing in myself
I'm changing in myself/I'm not the person I was

For some time now I have been feeling more and more negative about myself.

I have mood-swings and very strong emotions lately. Sometimes I even  experience the opposite emotions at the same time.

I am very sensitive lately and easily get upset - I may cry at the smallest  misfortune and can brood for a long time after getting news that actually has no  personal meaning to me. I may easily feel vulnerable with people - I would take  every word to heart.

Over the past few months I have been feeling extremely good/bad about myself  without any reason.

Ever so often I get a strong feeling that I am in the grip of forces beyond my  control.

I feel pretty low most of the time these days.

My friends tell me I am turning my night into day/I sleep more often during the  day than at night and it never used to be like this.

5. My relationships are going down
My relationships are going wrong

People just cannot seem to understand how I think these days and often they will  try to convince me that there is something wrong with my logic.

I used to like being with people, now I am worried about being with them. I prefer  to avoid them. I feel less able to keep up contacts. Although I want to keep up  my contacts, I am unable to have a conversation because sometimes I do not  know what I want to say.

I don't really trust people like I used to. Sometimes I feel that they are all part of  a plot against me/talking about me.

My family/friends say I have changed over the past few months, but what they  think does not really bother me much these days.

People really get on my nerves lately – why don’t they just leave me alone and  push off!

My boss/teachers have been complaining about my work – I can’t understand why.

6. Strange things are happening to me
Unusual things are happening to me

Sometimes I find that what I hear on the radio or TV feels like my own thoughts.

More often than not I am beginning to feel that many things have some special  meaning in my life, while actually they have nothing to do with me. I know that  these thoughts are not true. (For example, I may feel that when people laugh,  they are laughing at me, and at the very next moment I will also know that this  rubbish.)

Sometimes, when a person is talking, their voice sounds strange to me – hollow or  like there is someone else talking at the same time. I don’t know what’s going on.

For a while now time seems to be moving faster (or slower) for me.

I sometimes experience some disturbances of my sight/ hearing/ smell / taste for  which I can find no physical cause, e.g. changing of colours, shapes, the way  things look, distances, ‘echoes’ of the things I see or hear. Sometimes there are  also changes in the intensity of what I see, hear, taste or smell.

I am experiencing new ideas or thoughts that are having an effect on my  behaviour (e.g. sometimes I think that I can see into the future/ I am a lot more  superstitious/ I can ’hear’ others’ thoughts/I am developing a “sixth sense“/I really  believe that I can save the world.

Steps to clarify what is happening to you
Contact your doctor
Don't hesitate any longer

Tell him or her about your concerns

If you worry you will not remember it all, make a list of your concerns and  questions - take them with you

You may think of jotting down how and when your problem started - take your  notes with you to the doctor

Be open and honest with your doctor.
If you doctor does not have all the facts clearly, they may not be able to recognise  the problem.

I post these symptoms because many people don't really know what to look for  and sometimes are afraid to look for what signs and symptoms to look for. On top  of that, I must and want to give credit to the people who make these lists public  for those who are in need. It is MOST IMPORTANT to talk with your doctor and  they say that on MOST web pages. Your doctor is NOT a MIND READER. You have  to be OPEN and HONEST with your doctor for him/her to be able to truly help you.

If you feel you are losing it or you need a vacation, talk with your doctor. Maybe  write down a list of things that have changed. Use the lists above as a guide. But  DO something about it. Don't be a coward and hide in the forest. Seek out the  help you need so you can get back to being the courageous you that you and we  know you are.

Me? I'm in touch my my psychiatrist monthly, I have a counselor who is a great help and I have two pastors at the church I attend who are working through two books with me and who pray for me throughout this emotional time.  I also have the distress line that I can call as often as I need, even if that is more than 2  times per day.  I'm taking steps to find my mental vacation and I'm working on booking it.   Sometimes an unexpected vacation is needed and so I take it without 'booking' it.  I'm all the better for me and everybody around me when I look after myself.  What will you do with your symptoms?  Are you ready for a vacation?

ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR FAMILY PHYSICIAN BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANYTHING NEW.  This article is simply a guide to what steps you can take to find out what kind of help you need and only your family doctor is going to know best what you need.  Never keep your family doctor in the dark - they are not mind-readers.  Go prepared with a list of symptoms, how long it has been going on, any possible triggers, all medications you take, etc.  Your life is yours but it is cared for by your family doctor.  Completely and open honesty is required of you if your doctor is going to best help you get better and live a life full of quality and enjoyment.

It is just my humble, non-professional opinion, but I think the smaller vacations mean more than the long 3-month vacations sometimes.  Without the small breaks in between, we often would not make it to the longer 3-month vacations.  Take inventory and see if you need a mini-vacation at home or where you have supports around you.  There is NO SHAME in asking for help.  It is the strongest move you will ever make for yourself and for those who you love and love you.