6 Signs You're Headed For A Nervous Breakdown

Winona Ryder supposedly had one, as did Mariah Carey, Amanda Bynes, and a slew of other celebrities who spiraled out of control and ended up in the hospital. But what, exactly, was going on with these people—and could you be headed for a similar fate?

The answer is a bit complicated, since "nervous breakdown" isn't a phrase that you'll find written on a contemporary's medical chart. In the past, it was used as a catchall diagnosis that could mean someone had one of any number of psychiatric disorders. The common thread is that whatever was going on rendered them unable to function normally, at least for a period of time.  

Modern mental health professionals no longer use the vague phrase "nervous breakdown," and their goal is to identify the specific issue (such as major depression, panic disorder, or schizophrenia, among other possibilities) that caused what they might refer to as an "emotional health crisis," "mental health crisis," or "mental breakdown," says Heather Senior Monroe, MSW, LCSW, a social worker and director of program development at Newport Academy, a mental health treatment center. "Some experts classify a mental breakdown as a type of anxiety disorder," she explains. "What's important to understand is that such a breakdown is usually an indicator of underlying mental health problems that need to be addressed." 

"A mental breakdown is a period of mental illness during which intense feelings of depression, stress, or anxiety result in an inability to function in daily life," Monroe adds. "The person suffering is emotionally overwhelmed. They might feel that life is hopeless, that they are 'going crazy,' and that they will never be able to get back to normal."  

When you read about the latest celebrity breakdown, it might seem as if it came out of nowhere. Although it's possible for someone's mental health to go from perfect to rock bottom in an instant, it doesn't usually work that way. (Even psychosis tends to have warning signs.) And if you get help when you're just starting to falter, you have a better chance of avoiding a full-on crisis. Here, some indicators that warrant a call for help: 

You have a mental health issue that's not being well-managed.

"Anyone can experience a mental health crisis, but it is more likely when underlying mental health disorders are present," says Monroe. So if you already have depression, anxiety, or another problem, take it seriously. See your provider regularly for check-ins, and be sure to raise a flag if you feel like your current treatment isn't working. 

You're abusing alcohol or drugs (perhaps prescription ones).

Substance abuse and mental breakdowns often go hand-in-hand. You'll need professional help to break your addiction and get your mental and physical health back on track. Watch for these 5 warning signs that you have an alcohol problem, and seek out a medical professional if you need help.  

Your life has been extra stressful lately.

Maybe you were diagnosed with cancer, are going through a divorce, got fired, or lost a loved one. None of these things necessarily mean that you're headed for a breakdown, but they do raise the risk. If you feel like stress is pushing you to the brink—perhaps you're so worried that you're hardly eating or sleeping—get professional help sooner rather than later. "In these cases, even someone who does not usually suffer from anxiety or depression can become overwhelmed to the point that they experience a mental health crisis," says Monroe.  

You're having panic attacks or considering suicide.

"Panic attacks can be a warning sign, especially if they happen frequently within a short period of time. Mental breakdowns are often preceded by ongoing feelings of doom and worry, perhaps even suicidal thoughts, or by what's known as 'hyperarousal,'—feeling tense and over-stimulated as a result of the nervous system going into 'fight or flight' mode," says Monroe.  

You feel numb.

Some people on the cusp of a breakdown report not feeling much of anything. You might stop caring how you look, lose interest in activities you used to enjoy, and isolate yourself from family and friends. These are all signs of depression and possibly a major mental health crisis.  

Normal life feels unmanageable.

"Even small everyday tasks begin to feel like too much to cope with, and social situations seem overwhelming," says Monroe. This feeling can come on suddenly or build up slowly over time, thanks to an "ongoing buildup of worry and stress."

Since most mental breakdowns are stress-related, techniques such as meditation, exercise, and yoga can certainly help.  But if you're truly headed into crisis mode, don't try to fix it yourself or hope it will "just pass," warns Monroe. "A trained mental health professional can help you identify the underlying conditions or the triggering event, and work with you to create an appropriate treatment plan."

US intelligence director warns of more Russian cyberthreats

The director of national intelligence says Russia and other countries, including China, North Korea and Iran, are using cyberspace to target US and its allies, and will do so in future.

The Senate intelligence committee is holding a hearing on worldwide threats, and intelligence director Dan Coats says Russia is a threat to US government, military, diplomatic, business and critical infrastructure.

Coats says Iran also is making use of its high-tech capabilities. In 2013, an Iranian hacker intruded into the industrial control system of an American dam. In 2014, there was a data-deletion attack against a US-based casino.

Coats says China is targeting the US government and American businesses. He says such activity has diminished since US-China cyber commitments in 2015.

Coats' comments are coming in his prepared remarks.

'US likely to expand airline laptop ban to Europe'

The Trump administration is likely to expand a ban on laptops on commercial aircraft to include some European countries, but is reviewing how to ensure lithium batteries stored in luggage holds do not explode in midair, officials briefed on the matter said on Wednesday.

Any expansion of the ban could impact U.S. carriers such as United Airlines , Delta Air Lines Inc and American Airlines Group . Six U.S. and European officials said they expect the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to make an announcement but declined to say when.

DHS officials plan to meet with airline industry officials on Thursday to discuss security issues, two people briefed on the matter said. Also on Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly will give a classified briefing to senators about domestic threats and airline issues are expected to be discussed, a congressional aide briefed on the matter said.

In March, the U.S. announced laptop restrictions on flights originating from 10 airports including in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey because of fears that a concealed bomb could be installed in electronic devices taken onto aircraft.

Britain quickly followed suit with restrictions on a slightly different set of routes. One European official acknowledged that the expanded ban could affect flights to the United States from Britain.

DHS spokesman Dave Lapan said Kelly "hasn`t made a decision but we continue to evaluate the threat environment and have engaged in discussions with airline representatives and other stakeholders about the threat."

Some U.S. airlines have been making plans in the event of an order to require them to bar passengers from traveling to the United States without larger electronics in the cabin, airline officials briefed on the matter said. 

The U.S. laptop ban and on other electronic devices larger than cell phones has affected direct flights to the United States by Royal Jordanian Airlines , Egypt Air, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways.

One issue under discussion is how to ensure that lithium batteries in any large collection of devices stored in airplane holds do not explode in midair, officials told Reuters.

European regulators have warned placing what could be potentially hundreds of devices in the hold on long-haul flights could compromise safety by increasing the risk of fire from poorly deactivated lithium-ion batteries. 

Peter Goelz, a former managing director at the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States, said a significant expansion of the in-cabin ban on larger electronics "is going to represent a major logistical problem for airlines."

Goelz said more money needs to be spent to improve screening.

"It is very difficult to determine whether a dense object is actually a battery or a plastic explosive," Goelz said.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that a United Nations agency has begun an effort to craft global guidance for the use of laptops and other portable electronics in passenger aircraft cabins after the bans upset airline passengers and Middle Eastern carriers.

The International Civil Aviation Organization met on Tuesday to debate the issue after the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and other countries complained their airlines had been unduly penalized by the decision, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Airports and airlines in Europe have already been working on plans for a possible extension of the ban since the U.S. announced the first restrictions on larger electronic devices in the cabin, according to several industry sources. 

    Issues that need to be resolved include how best to inform passengers of any new restrictions to keep disruption at airports to a minimum. On the operational side, measures such as stopping online check-in for U.S. bound flights or ensuring U.S. flights depart from a dedicated part of terminals are among ideas being mulled, although no decisions have yet been taken.

China's manned moon trip: Chinese volunteers to live in simulated space cabin for up to 200 days

 China, which aims to become a global power in space exploration, is testing space cabin for astronauts to stay on the moon for extended periods.

As part of Beijing's plan to put people on the moon in the next two decades, Chinese volunteers will live in a simulated space cabin for up to 200 days.

Eight Chinese volunteers will live in "Yuegong-1," a simulated space "cabin" in Beijing for the next year, strengthening China's knowledge and technical know-how, and helping the country's scientists understand exactly what will be required for humans to remain on the moon in the medium and long terms, Xinhua reported.

The volunteers, all civilians and elite postgraduate students from Beihang University, are divided into two groups.

For the experiment, code-named "Yuegong-365, the first four stepped into Yuegong-1 on Wednesday. The two men and two women will stay in the cabin for 60 days, then be replaced by the second group, also two men and two women, who will stay there for 200 days.

After that, the first group will return for the remaining 105 days.

The experiment is Beihang's second attempt to see how the Bioregenerative Life Support System (BLSS) works in a moon-like environment. A successful 105-day trial was conducted in 2014.

The BLSS is a system where animals, plants and microorganisms co-exist. Water and food can be recycled in the system, creating an earth-like environment.

While it remains unclear exactly how long China's first lunar explorers will spend on the surface, the country is already planning for longer stays.

"The BLSS is absolutely crucial to probes to the moon and to Mars," said Liu Zhiheng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The latest test is vital to the future of China's moon and Mars missions and must be relied upon to guarantee the safety and health of our astronauts, Liu Zhiheng added.

Journey to Mars: NASA sending astronauts to Moon for year-long mission

NASA may send a group of astronauts to the moon for a year-long mission in 2027 as part of its plan to send humans to Mars in the 2030s.

The lunar presence would serve as a launching point for the spacecraft that will carry humans to Mars, a NASA official was quoted as saying by Space.com on Wednesday.

However, before that year-long lunar mission, there would be at least five missions - four of them crewed, to deliver hardware, such as a crew habitat, Greg Williams of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate said during his presentation at the Humans to Mars Summit in Washington DC on May 9.

Williams said the last piece of delivered hardware would be the actual Deep Space Transport vehicle that would later be used to carry a crew to Mars.

"If we could conduct a yearlong crewed mission on this Deep Space Transport in cislunar space, we believe we will know enough that we could then send this thing, crewed, on a 1,000-day mission to the Mars system and back," Williams was quoted as saying.

NASA recently announced that its Mars plan now includes building a "deep-space gateway" around the Moon, Williams said during his presentation.

This deep space gateway would have a power bus, a small habitat to extend crew time, docking capability, an airlock, and serviced by logistics modules to enable research.

The area of space near the moon offers a true deep space environment to gain experience for human missions that push farther into the solar system, access the lunar surface for robotic missions but with the ability to return to Earth if needed in days rather than weeks or months.

The year-long crewed mission around the lunar orbit is one of the major future milestones of NASA's current plan.

100,000 Eggs Smashed (10 pics)

French farmers smashed 100,000 eggs protesting against new laws and overproduction in Europe.

The surprising way weed may protect the brain

Marijuana isn’t exactly synonymous with mental sharpness, but surprising new research has found that it might help protect the brain from the effects of aging.

A German study on mice published in the journal Nature Medicine found that low, regular doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana, may help to keep our brains from slowing down as we get older. For the study, researchers from the University of Bonn and Hebrew University spent a month giving daily THC to mice that were two months, one year, and 18 months old, and studied the effects on each.

Scientists first tested the mice on their ability to recognize familiar objects and navigate a water maze without the influence of THC and found that, while younger mice did well, older mice struggled. Once they were given THC, the younger mice had a drop in performance, but older mice showed improvement that lasted for weeks afterward — and even did as well as younger mice that had no THC.

Researchers say that THC in older mice might stimulate the brain’s endocannabinoid system, a group of brain and nervous system receptors that become less active as we age.

Of course, the study was conducted on mice, not humans, and it’s too soon to recommend that adults start taking daily doses of THC based on this. But The Guardian reports that the scientists are planning to start a clinical trial to test this on humans later this year. “If we can rejuvenate the brain so that everybody gets five to 10 more years without needing extra care, then that is more than we could have imagined,” study co-author Andras Bilkei-Gorzo told The Guardian.

Norbert E. Kaminski, PhD, director of the Institute for Integrative Toxicology at Michigan State University, tells Yahoo Beauty that while it’s too soon to draw any conclusions from the research, there may be something to it. “If low doses of THC decrease decline in cognitive function in senior citizens, this could be beneficial,” he says.

Kaminski also notes that many diseases that cause a decline of cognitive function, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, are thought to be due, in part, to chronic inflammation in the brain. Cannabinoids like THC have anti-inflammatory properties, he says, which may be beneficial for some older patients suffering from certain neurodegenerative diseases.

Gary Wenk, PhD, a professor in the departments of Psychology & Neuroscience & Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics at the Ohio State University and Medical Center who is a member of the Governor’s Marijuana Advisory Committee, agrees. He tells Yahoo Beauty that the research “presents clear evidence for the cognitive and neurological benefits of low-dose marijuana use in the aging brain.” Wenk, who also has studied the impact of low-dose cannabinoids, says THC acts by reducing brain inflammation and its consequences upon normal brain function as people age. “It’s a very positive effect that is seen at quite low doses,” he says.

Seth Ammerman, MD, a clinical professor at Stanford University’s department of pediatrics in the division of adolescent medicine, tells Yahoo Beauty that THC affects younger brains differently because it can disrupt normal pathways of brain development. But once a person’s brain has fully developed, Ammerman says, it’s “possible” that THC can help stabilize elements in the endocannabinoid system so that the effects of aging on the brain are tempered in a way.

Of course, THC is responsible for the high that people feel from marijuana, so dosing is important. Women’s health expert Jennifer Wider, MD, tells Yahoo Beauty she has some concerns.

“It has been well-established that THC comes along with side effects — even in older people,” she says, listing anxiety, paranoid thinking patterns, drowsiness, slowed sense of time, and dizziness as examples. “More research will be needed before this could become an accepted therapeutic modality.” Ammerman agrees, noting that “there are still a lot of unanswered questions.”