nervous breakdown

American  

noun

1. (not in technical use) any disabling mental disorder requiring treatment.

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nervous breakdown British  

noun

1. any mental illness not primarily of organic origin in which the patient ceases to function properly, often accompanied by severely impaired concentration, anxiety, insomnia, and lack of self-esteem; used esp of episodes of depression

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Etymology

Origin of nervous breakdown

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Example Sentences

In “Greenberg,” Ben Stiller’s title character is a cantankerous and neurotic New Yorker who has fled west after a nervous breakdown.

From Los Angeles Times

As present becomes past, we see nervous breakdowns first, then the teetering points that predate them and lastly those first blooms of camaraderie, success and love.

From Los Angeles Times

It cost him £27m in lost revenue and prompted a "nervous breakdown" among publishers, he said, but it paid off and in 2016 the company returned to profit.

From BBC

Just then Goldman Sachs appeared to Burry to be experiencing a nervous breakdown.

From Literature

He had pushed himself to the point of a nervous breakdown by the constant traveling and his need to write and produce new material.

From Los Angeles Times