Agree with Paxiled and nursegirl. "Nervous breakdown," the fodder of movies and dime store novels.
I got a bit lost as to whom we were reading about........you or your mother, but in either case, I would strongly urge a psychiatric evaluation. Nobody is going to lock anyone up in a loony bin or tie on a straight jacket, but they will POSSIBLY recommend some medication that can help in combination with some much needed talk therapy.
There is help and hope out there. Get it!
Peace
Greenlydia
Excellently said by Paxilled.
No such thing as a nervous breakdown. Just a term used in movies and books. It can always get worse, and it can always get better. There's depression, there's anxiety, there are a lot of conditions, but no real medical term "nervous breakdown." Now, years ago they had terms like this, especially if you wanted to commit an independent woman to a mental asylum, but no, no nervous breakdown. Which isn't to say the suffering isn't real, just that it doesn't go by that name. And remember, depression can cause anxiety, and it can be the reason for low self esteem that might push a person to try to be so perfect.