Until and unless you have experienced a 'mental breakdown', it's impossible to convey what it feels like to go through such a crisis, or why it happens. But once you have gone through such an experience, it's much easier to make sense of the dramatic change and transformation which occurs during such an event.

The interesting thing is, humanity is currently going through a collective breakdown, so it's useful to know how to navigate such an existential crisis, in order to make sense of it, and stay sane during it.

So let me tell you a story.

Death and Rebirth

Nearly half my lifetime ago, at the age of 28, I had what is classically termed a 'nervous breakdown'. The funny thing is, no-one ever named it as such at the time, and I had no idea what was happening to me. It took me years to piece together what had happened, and that comprehension was pivotal in coming to understand the mechanics of consciousness. 

As I lay in my hospital bed, self-admitted for clinical...