I feel like there are 2 contributing factors to my breakdown:
1. Suppression. I feel like I was suppressing my stress rather than working through it. That allowed it to accumulate internally. I feel like one of the ways that I learned to deal with stress is to avoid it. Like I didn’t even cry when my parents got divorced when I was 19, although I did still feel sad and worry about it. So it’s possible that sometimes I suppress emotions rather than working through them all the way.
2. Failure to cope. My ambitious goals (it’s also worth noting that sometimes perfectionism and overly high goals contribute to my stress) caused me to devote all my time to being busy. I never took time to chill with my outlets, such as playing the piano, praying with quality, composing music, or writing in my journal.

So what I’m wondering is
1. Is my self-evaluation in the previous paragraph correct and complete? If incomplete, what other underlying mental processes or illnesses would cause me to crack and act out like that?
2. What can I do to stabilize myself and avoid occasional rash decisions in the future? Is it as simple as not suppressing my thoughts and taking time to cope?