<p>If you ask the Mayo Clinic, a nervous breakdown or mental breakdown is typically understood to be a stress-induced, short-term depression where someone basically stops functioning normally for a relatively short period of time (e.g. calls in sick, withdraws from social situations, stays in bed all day, binge eats, etc.). It is basically a short-term depression/anxiety episode. It is not a scientific term though, so what the OP means by it is rather ambiguous and they haven’t clarified. If he/she is truly having mental breakdowns multiple times per week according to this definition, it is not normal and may signal underlying depression or anxiety problems, thus the reason I suggested speaking with a medical professional to try and sort it out.</p>
<p>I see. I am a psychiatrist ( MD+6) , and I don’t know what that means. </p>
<p>If it means becoming overwhelmed with feelings of frustration and maybe hopelessness, I would say yes; other students get there. In my families exprience, if they don’t resolve in time to get going for the next hurdle, get perspective from someone who know’s what getting an engineering degree is like. And that’s not me.</p>
<p>Like I said, I have no idea what it actually means for the OP because they haven’t shared what they meant by it, but I know that while it is completely normal to get stressed out while working on an engineering degree, it is NOT normal to get so stressed out multiple times per week to the point of being essentially a non-functioning person temporarily.</p>
<p>When I was studying for the PhD qualifying exam, I got to this point and after swallowing my pride, I sought the advice of my doctor, got a therapist to talk to and after a fairly short time, was back on my feet and haven’t felt that way since. It was difficult for me to make that choice, but it was a very good one. Nothing like that ever occurred during my undergraduate studies; just the normal, run of the mill stress that has you worrying about passing a test but still acting like a functioning person. Further, I didn’t have any friends as far as I know who got so stressed that they basically shut down for a while.</p>
<p>So really, it comes down to what the OP means by mental breakdown. As someone who has been on the depression side of the possible definitions of that phrase, I simply want to urge the OP to take action if that is actually what is going on in their life.</p>
<p>It also seems to me based on post #12 by the OP, there may be an underlying issue where he/she is simply pursuing engineering for money and not because he/she has any actual interest in the subject. That could certainly be a compounding factor, because if you don’t have an interest in the subject, then all the grueling work is going to be a lot worse. Even for the hardest assignments I always found motivation in the fact that I liked what I was doing even if it was hard. The OP doesn’t seem to have that.</p>
<p>I am following this thread because my son “freaks out”* several times a week, at least this time of year, and I’m wondering if that’s common.</p>
<p>*overwhelmed with feelings of frustration and maybe hopelessness,</p>
<p>I think “psychotic episode” when I hear of a mental breakdown. As in, “Your son is on the verge of a psychotic break.” That was 3 years ago. I know more abut mental illness than I ever expected to, with two sons suffering from it. The term “mental breakdown” is used way too loosely.</p>
<p>Yep I come close to mental breakdowns from school work. When you feel like you are about to have a mental breakdown, just take a break and come back to it later. I also smoke and that helps with the stress. lol, I wouldn’t recommend smoking though.</p>
<p>Tough Love: As long as you take your mind in a direction that it was not intended to go then it will suffer. What’s so special about engineering? Try studying something else.</p>
<p>Hi. If it is causing you a lot of stress then maybe you should change majors to something else you like. Your mental health and physical health is WAY MORE important than school. From what I see, you have an interest in engineering but didn’t expect it to be extremely difficult for yourself. So I am guessing what you are experiencing is not only frustration from your schoolwork but also experiencing anxiety for other things (e.g. whether or not you will pass, deciding to drop out, figuring out what to do if you drop engineering, disappointment that engineering might not be for yourself, or parental pressure). I am not sure about what you are thinking when faced with an exceptionally difficult challenge but I am just assuming what could be your thoughts through my very own experience. Usually all these negative thoughts come in a package and make difficult studying even more difficult. If you like engineering and choose to stick with it, then you have no choice but to change the way you approach challenges. You can’t change the homework to make it easier but you can make the homework easier on yourself. </p>
<p>Another thing could be that you might be taking too many difficult classes or perhaps too many classes in general (16+ hours). Treat this as a learning experience not to take more than you can handle.</p>
<p>Now let me tell you what I did to change my attitude based on my experience. </p>
<p>For me, I was had a hot temper when faced with a challenge throughout high school and my freshman year in college. Whenever I didn’t understand an assignment, I would usually get angry, panic about what grade I’ll get, call myself “dumb”, and even hit myself. I wanted to speak to a psychiatrist but didn’t have the extra money to do so. Like in your situation, it takes me a long time to solve a single homework problem and it gets frustrating. But I realized that studying was hard because instead of focusing on the assignment, I had negative thoughts about myself and my academics while doing the assignment. I would compare it to studying a topic that is hard to understand in front of loud speakers playing loud music, only in this case the loud music is the negative comments. Hard isn’t it? So I tried to focus on blocking out the thoughts and just do the assignment. It’s harder than it sounds but once you do it one time, you’ll realize the benefits associated with it and repeat it until it becomes a habit. Fast forward two semesters, I find studying hard subjects to be somewhat more enjoyable than I did before. To be honest while doing homework last night (yeah on a Friday night) I was actually smiling and laughing. Strange as it sounds, (you don’t have to laugh while doing homework, I’m a little crazy lol) I felt that an even harder class I am taking this semester is much easier than an easier level class I took during my first semester. And the difference is that I encouraged myself that I can do the work and not do things like hit myself or get frustrated. Having a mental breakdown will only make work more difficult and will become a bad habit. Also realize that your plans for the day will go off course. There will always be a homework assignment that will take up more time eventually taking study time away for other courses. College is like that. Accept the fact that Murphy’s law reigns throughout the college experience. It’s only difficult if you make it difficult.</p>
<p>OP, do you go to MIT? No mental break down but no break period. Work on homework 14 hours straight.</p>
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<p>This is tough. I feel your pain. </p>
<p>Problems need to be broken down into smaller problems. I think that applies to the problem you posed in your post. Your problem can broken down into two interrelated but separate problems: 1) the emotional issue of your anxiety, and 2) the actual difficulty in solving the engineering problems sets. </p>
<p>You’ve been given excellent advice about getting professional help in dealing with the anxiety. I don’t have a lot to add there. I do have a lot to add about doing engineering homework, and studying engineering classes. I learned some of this from being a student, and some of it from being a TA. </p>
<p>The most important thing to recognize about doing engineering courses and solving engineering problems is that it’s a learned skill. Few people come to college with study skills good enough to do engineering. They need to be developed and you have to be open to that fact and work to improve your game. Everyone does. </p>
<p>Recognize that an engineering course is broken up into units, and each unit covers a finite number of concepts and methods that must be mastered. These are usually covered in lecture. That’s why lectures are so important. You should always prepare for lecture by pre-reading the material and trying to formulate questions. Formulating your own questions is essential to your understanding. I learned to take notes on a sheet of paper and copy over the notes carefully after class. This forced me to internalize the lecture and formulate questions for the staff. Then I would go to office hours and ask my questions. I would also attempt each problem as soon as they are assigned, again to trying to break down the problems, even if I didn’t know how to solve them, but most importantly to formulate more questions. </p>
<p>I worked in study groups with other people who did this and we found that we could often answer each others questions and gain enough insight into the material to eventually do the problems. There is no timetable. Sometimes problem sets would take an excruciatingly long time. Despite what some would say, I think the time spent grappling with them is worth it. </p>
<p>I think you have to take a deep breath and try not to be overwhelmed. Maybe a tutor would be beneficial. Freshman and sophomore year it would often take me longer to do problem sets than others. Part of that was that I took my time to make sure I understood and part of it was that I thought most people were genuinely smarter than me. Really though, my skills weren’t where they needed to be. Once you develop the skills it will be faster, but you need to develop them. </p>
<p>I will tell you that by junior year, I had it figured out. It’s really about study skills and trying to really figure out what they are trying to teach you and being open to it.</p>
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. That is often the case. It was for me. But you still need to survive your 4 years of engineering courses, with a GPA high enough for hiring (varies by school / area). Otherwise it is all for naught. </p>
<p>Seek help for your stress issues. Then consult with your advisor to ensure that engineering is the right path for you. If yes, carry on. If no, it’s not the end of the world.</p>
<p>I’m not an engineering major, but I have had moments where I’ve felt completely overwhelmed. Last year right in the middle of a test, I burst out crying and started having compulsive leg movements while getting hot flashes. I think I was having an anxiety attack or something, and it was horrible. My professor had to talk softly to me like a child for me to calm down. All in front of my classmates. </p>
<p>My advice would be to NEVER let it get to that. It’s unnecessarily painful, and it’s where you hit rock bottom. Study smarter (not necessarily harder), start study groups, go to office hours whenever you can; even just fool yourself into feeling confident. It’s when you feel like you could have studied more or could have done more than you start to freak out. </p>
<p>Good luck to you, and please relax and feel less pressure!</p>