What's in a name?

I had my anxiety breakdown in March 2016. 

I think that’s what I’m going to call it from now on if that’s ok. I have no shame in talking about it and I believe that talking about our mental health issues is a vital part of the recovery process (just watch out for the glazed look in other’s eyes that tells you that others have reached their listening limit). 

In the past I've described my breakdown as my “nervous breakdown” but that term seems a bit dated and doesn’t really describe what happened. Also, I can’t use the phrase without hearing The Rolling Stones’ “19^th Nervous Breakdown” playing in my head. 

I’ve also used “mental breakdown” to describe what happened to me, and that is the correct medical term – a period of intense mental distress that leaves you unable to function in your daily life -  However, I’ve found that years of stigma have made this term a bit too strong for some people (myself included at times) and you can see the fear in their eyes as their sharing boundaries are threatened. 

Now, I’m very much an advocate for smashing the stigmas around mental health but the most important thing in communicating about mental health issues is exactly that, communicating. If your listener has their metaphorical fingers in their ears, then you can’t start a dialogue. I find using the term anxiety breakdown is more specific and clarifies some details right from the start which can ease the dialogue.

So, “anxiety breakdown” it is. And, hey, it was my breakdown. I went through it, I get to name it, right?