What are some of the greatest mental Breakdowns on all soaps.

Stories where characters completely lost there minds and where taken away by the guys in white coats.

AMC

Emily Ann Sago

Janet Green

Adam Chandler in 2000 (where he confessed to Stuart that he set Marian up)

Erica turning to the bottle (she was eventually committed to a psych ward in Las Vegas)

Adam vs. Dixie in 1989

Laura (Horton) on Days -- gave me nightmares for years

I also forgot to add Annie on GL

It wasnt exactly a mental breakdown in the form of going crazy but on Port Charles when Lucy had a breakdown after Christina was kidnapped by Julie. Lynn Herring was at her best showing the audience that Lucy isn't always bubbly. Lucy went into a depression and would sit alone in the dark not letting any light in, until Kevin snapped her out of it.

Good one POV! Are there any from AMC that I missed in my post? I am sure there were some breakdowns in the 80s....maybe Anne had a breakdown (the one with the mentally handicapped child)

There have been several wonderful mental breakdowns on Y&R, I happened to enjoy the mental collapse of Tricia Dennison.

Tricia Goes Beserk on New Years Eve: http://youtube.com/watch?v=TULwqQThh78&feature=related

Tricia Shoots Ryan: http://youtube.com/watch?v=DqM_eqImR9M&feature=related

Thanks! I wasnt sure if anybody would remember that storyline, but Lynn Herring deserved at least an Emmy nom for that storyline. It was during its best time when Karen Harris was writing the show. As for AMC Im not sure about the 80's I did not start watching until the 90's.

Loved Annie Parisse's on ATWT. No white coats, but still highly enjoyable (even if they did resort to bringing her back once too often, not knowing when to let it go).

But the original breakdown was a LOT of fun to watch.

Cynthia Watros' Annie Dutton on GL, the two specific stand-outs being her breakdown on the witness stand and when she went berserk at Cross Creek after overdosing on medication and booze. Watros was on fire during the 1997 calendar year, she could've picked any reel at random and still have won that Emmy in 1998.

Loved Annie Parisse's on ATWT. No white coats, but still highly enjoyable (even if they did resort to bringing her back once too often, not knowing when to let it go).

But the original breakdown was a LOT of fun to watch.

Funny that you mention that! On Wednesday in the ITZ chat room, Tom Casiello said whenever he wrote scripts that Julia was in, he sort of channeled Cynthia Watros' Annie.

I'm probably the only person who remembers this one but Roxie Shayne's breakdown on GL still gives me shivers when I think of it.

My personal favorite is Carly's 2005 breakdown. JB and LW did a great job playing Carly during and after her breakdown.

As for AMC Im not sure about the 80's I did not start watching until the 90's.

Same here. I began in March/1991 so it has now been officially and exactly 17 years

I'm probably the only person who remembers this one but Roxie Shayne's breakdown on GL still gives me shivers when I think of it.

Marceline, you're not the only one who remembers it! Roxie had a stress induced breakdown after dealing with Johnny's cancer for months, right? Kristi Ferrell is still missed by me!

LOVED LOVED LOVED Erica's meltdown at the Woman of the Year awards on AMC (1996?) when she lashed out at everyone in town, especially St. Maria of Wildwind, "tending to the sick in her push-up bra." Still waiting for that clip to turn up on YouTube...

Brent Lawrence's breakdown was probably the only good thing I remember about Megan McTavish's GL. Too bad life imitated art with Frank Beaty's real-life mental collapse. But he was a riveting actor.

Victoria Rowell played the hell out of Dru's mental breakdown on Y&R last year, even though it was poorly written by LML.