One thing I've learned during the recovery from my nervous breakdown is that it all becomes a bit of an inconvenience to people.

My breakdown is being a tough-talking best friend; it's not trying to hurt me in the short term, it's trying to save me in the long term.

Yep, people tend to avoid talking about mental breakdowns. It’s all they can do to hold on to their own sanity without having to think about yours.

Your nerves are raw and you’re aware that you’re hypersensitive at the best of times but some people completely disregard your experience.

Did I really have a breakdown? Noooooo, I just decided to stop functioning for a couple of years for the hell of it.

It takes a long time to spiral all the way down to rock bottom. And that's the good news: there's plenty of time to spot the warning signs.

Being fragile is part of being human, a moment of relative dysfunction in an otherwise normal state.

My world fell apart when I had my breakdown but I remember seeing it as an opportunity, rather than an obstacle.