How to Prevent a Nervous Breakdown: Resilience Tools and Coping Skills
If you’ve ever experienced ongoing and overwhelming stress to the point of struggling to complete daily tasks, you’re not alone. Many people face challenging times at least once in their lifetime.
However, in times of extreme stress, if you feel unable to bathe, feed yourself, or go to work, you may be experiencing a situation sometimes described as a “nervous breakdown.”
The term “nervous breakdown” is not a clinical diagnosis but instead a lay term used to describe a time of intense emotional and mental distress. You may also hear it described as a “mental health crisis” or “emotional collapse.” Regardless, experiencing this level of distress can be extremely frightening for both the person affected and their loved ones.
Despite not being a clinical diagnosis by itself, someone experiencing a nervous breakdown may find they qualify for a different diagnosis. For instance, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or severe depression.1 Each of these issues can contribute to a sense of overwhelm and mental collapse.
The good news is that there are ways to learn how to prevent a nervous breakdown and build emotional resilience to ensure you can cope with whatever challenges lie ahead. A mental health professional is always at hand to help you during this process.
This article can also help, as it covers:
- What a nervous breakdown is
- How to recognize the warning signs of a mental breakdown
- The role of emotional resilience in preventing a breakdown
- Daily coping skills to avoid breakdowns
- Where to find professional support to prevent emotional overload
What Is a Nervous Breakdown?
A nervous breakdown is an intense and overwhelming time of psychological distress, in which people’s ability to function day to day is severely affected.
Think of your body like a car. When a car’s engine is sputtering or smoking, it’s a warning sign that it’s heading for a breakdown. Similar to the car’s engine, your brain is what controls your functioning and makes everything in your body work.
In other words, before anyone arrives at a place of mental shutdown and dysfunction, there are warning signs along the way. Plus, recognizing stress signs before a breakdown is essential for early intervention.
If you are experiencing any of the symptoms in the following section, professional support and coping skills can help restore a sense of balance and resilience.
Recognizing the Warning Signs of a Mental Breakdown
The signs and symptoms of a breakdown can vary from person to person and are affected by factors like culture and lifestyle. However, when wondering how to prevent a nervous breakdown, recognizing the early signs can be key.
The following are some general signs of a nervous breakdown:2
- Calling in sick to work for days or longer
- Avoiding social events or leaving the home
- Trouble eating and sleeping
- Poor personal hygiene
Additionally, there are psychological and emotional warning signs of a nervous breakdown. If you or a loved one is experiencing a variety of the following symptoms, speaking to a mental health professional as soon as possible is advised. They can talk to you about treatment options, including how to make a nervous breakdown prevention plan.
Emotional and psychological warning signs of a mental breakdown:
- Racing thoughts
- Anxiety or constant worry
- Difficulty concentrating
- Being forgetful, trouble with memory
- Feeling persistently overwhelmed or stressed
- Irritability
- Emotional outbursts, such as tearfulness or anger
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Risky behaviors, such as self-harm
Aside from these warning signs, the clearest distinction between someone having a difficult time or a mental health crisis is whether or not they can participate in daily life activities. Once someone’s emotional or mental state impacts them so severely that they are unable to perform everyday tasks, there’s a chance something deeper is going on.
At the point of loss of function, coping skills to avoid breakdowns become a lifeline. Otherwise, there is further risk to mental and physical well-being through loss of employment, housing, and interpersonal relationships.
The Role of Emotional Resilience in Preventing a Breakdown
Just like a car, your body and mind also require regular maintenance to ensure optimum functioning and health. Fortunately, there are daily activities and mindset strategies that can significantly improve your ability to handle stress. These positive practices can enhance emotional resilience, allowing people to access tools, positive attitudes, and personal strengths to adapt to life’s challenges.
For instance, a 2025 study found that techniques like cognitive reappraisal and social sharing strategies led people to develop more emotional balance, resulting in stronger psychological resilience. This was particularly the case in comparison to those who suppressed their emotions and allowed negative thoughts to spiral.3
So, in essence, reframing negative thoughts and expressing feelings led to a greater ability to cope with difficulties.
Additionally, people can learn to cope with and grow from serious life struggles through resilience training. This technique is commonly used by first responders and disaster workers, but it also involves a series of exercises anyone can do. Evidence suggests that the most successful resilience training programs include:4
- Distress tolerance training
- Reaching out to social support systems
- Identifying meaning in life
- Developing effective coping skills
- Actively promoting positive emotions through benefit finding
- Stress management strategies
- Learning how to think flexibly
Daily Coping Skills and Lifestyle Changes to Avoid Nervous Breakdowns
People naturally cope with stress in various ways. However, some ways of coping can effectively reduce stress and anxiety, while others may actually worsen them.
For example, a 2016 study looked at both positive and negative coping strategies and found that those that gave people a sense of control were more effective at reducing overwhelm. Conversely, the study also found that maladaptive strategies like avoidance techniques reinforced a sense of lack of control, resulting in less psychological well-being.5
The good news is that learning healthy skills to prevent emotional overload is entirely achievable – and these techniques can be practiced anywhere, at any time.
The following is a list of positive coping skills to avoid breakdowns:
Grounding techniques: These work by engaging your five senses to help you focus on the present moment. Strategies include deep breathing, focusing on physical sensations, spending time in nature, and listening to music.
Journaling: Writing down thoughts, feelings, and reflections in a personal notebook or journal can release pent-up stress and help with pattern detection.
Cognitive reframing: Challenging negative thoughts by actively finding evidence to the contrary.
Setting boundaries: Establishing limits in relationships, such as outlining what behaviors are acceptable and which ones are not. This can help protect well-being and sense of identity.
Mindfulness and meditation: Practices that involve focusing on the present moment, preventing negativity spirals, and overwhelm.
Deep breathing: These techniques vary, but typically involve breathing slowly through the nose, holding briefly, and breathing slowly out. The ‘box breathing’ technique is especially popular due to its simplicity and ability to stimulate the vagus nerve.
Regular exercise: Movement helps boost mood through releasing endorphins and reducing stress hormones.
Creative expression: Any outlet that allows you to express yourself, such as writing, drawing, painting, or playing music, can be a source of cathartic release.
Self-Care to Avoid Breakdown
There are several key habits that people can adopt to maintain a balanced sense of well-being – and leave them more resilient to life’s challenges. You may already practice some of these self-care habits, or recognize the need to improve on them.
Positive self-care habits to prevent emotional overload include:
- Getting adequate, restful sleep
- Regularly exercising
- Eating healthy foods
- Staying hydrated
- Reducing time on digital devices
- Cultivating healthy interpersonal relationships.6
However, self-care looks different to everyone. For some, rest means a conversation with a loved one. For others, it’s taking a bath or reading a book. As long as it helps you to feel more capable of tackling challenges, it works.
In addition to building a toolbox of healthy coping mechanisms, consider other lifestyle changes to prevent breakdowns. This includes quitting or cutting down on unhealthy habits such as emotional eating and smoking.
Creating a Personal Mental Breakdown Prevention Plan
Evidence suggests that when it comes to knowing how to prevent a nervous breakdown, it’s not the stressor that causes harm, but the reaction to the stressor.6 Fortunately, by creating a mental breakdown prevention plan, we can take control of reactions and respond to stressful events in more proactive ways.
To create a personal mental breakdown prevention plan, think about the ways you currently cope. Make a list of things you typically do when feeling stressed. For instance, the last time you were stressed, how did you react? What were your thoughts? What behaviors did you engage in? And did these reactions reduce your stress or increase it?
Next, examine your daily routine. Are there healthy coping mechanisms, such as regular exercise, meditation, or journaling, built into your schedule each day? Or do you prefer to follow a more loose schedule?
Evaluating your past behaviors and daily routine can give you insight into patterns that contribute to stress. Then, once these patterns are highlighted, you can make proactive changes by including some of the coping strategies and lifestyle changes listed previously.
In other words, by being a student of your own life and dedicated to your personal development, you can prepare yourself to manage challenges and use self-care to avoid breakdown.
Get Support During a Mental Breakdown
A nervous breakdown or mental health crisis can be scary and overwhelming. You may feel like you’ve no control over your life and are balancing on the precipice of crisis. But you don’t have to figure out how to prevent a nervous breakdown alone. Professional help and support are available to you.
At Mission Connection, our goal is to provide comprehensive mental health care for our clients. Talk therapy is one of the most effective methods of helping people with mental health challenges regain control over their lives, and our team provides a variety of options.7 These include inpatient and outpatient treatment options, as well as virtual therapy – each designed to fit your unique needs.
If you’re concerned about your current mental health or feel like you’re experiencing a nervous breakdown, our team is available 24/7 to answer any questions or concerns. Reach out today to start your journey toward a more stable sense of control and better well-being.
References
- American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.
- Mayo Clinic. (2023, April 26). Nervous breakdown: What does it mean? https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/expert-answers/nervous-breakdown/faq-20057830
- Yu, Z., & Liu, W. (2025). The psychological resilience of teenagers in terms of their everyday emotional balance and the impact of emotion regulation strategies. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1381239. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1381239
- Cleveland Clinic. (2025, February 19). Resilience training: What it is, how it works & exercises. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/17799-resilience-training
- Dijkstra, M. T., & Homan, A. C. (2016). Engaging in rather than disengaging from stress: Effective coping and perceived control. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1415. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01415
- Britt, T. W., Crane, M., Hodson, S. E., & Adler, A. B. (2016). Effective and ineffective coping strategies in a low-autonomy work environment. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 21(2), 154–168. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039898
- American Psychological Association. (2012, August 9). Research shows psychotherapy is effective but underutilized. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2012/08/psychotherapy-effective#:~:text=Research%20demonstrates%20that%20psychotherapy%20is,effects%20that%20drugs%20often%20carry
