6 Powerful Ways to Recover from a Mental Breakdown

On 13 September 1693, Isaac Newton wrote a strange letter to his friend Samuel Pepys. Pepys was a former Secretary to the Admiralty. Newton had published the "Principia" six years earlier and was the greatest scientist of his age.

The letter was short and agitated. He wrote that he was extremely troubled by the confusion he had fallen into, that for a year he had neither eaten nor slept properly, and that he had lost his "former consistency of mind". He then added that he must withdraw from Pepys and all his friends, and would never see them again.

Three days later, from the inn where he was staying in London, he wrote to the philosopher John Locke. He confessed that he had believed Locke was trying to entangle him with women, and that on hearing Locke was ill he had said "'twere better if you were dead". And he begged Locke's pardon for this lack of charity.

Locke's reply reads like a lesson in friendship. He wrote that he was more ready to forgive Newton than Newton was to ask for it, and offered to meet him wherever he liked. Newton's answer of 15 October explained the cause of the breakdown in plain language: the previous winter, by sleeping too often by the fire, he had fallen into a bad habit of sleeping, and an illness that was going around that summer had made things worse. When he wrote to Locke, he had not slept an hour a night for a fortnight, and for five nights had not slept a wink.

Historians still debate the causes of this period: overwork, sleeplessness, a close friendship that ended abruptly that same year. What is certain is that Newton recovered. In 1696 he moved from Cambridge to London, took up a post at the Royal Mint and spent the last thirty years of his life working there.

Geniuses break down too

The comforting side of this story is that it shows a breakdown is not a flaw of character. Even the mind that explained the motion of the planets cracked under sleeplessness, isolation and unrelenting strain.

The burnout that founders, managers and freelancers describe today comes down a similar road: a long-lasting load, broken sleep, a shrinking circle. Newton's letters map that road, and they also carry signs of the way out.

6 ways to recover from a mental breakdown

1. Name the problem

The most important line in Newton's first letter was his admission that he no longer had his "former consistency of mind". Denying the problem gains you nothing; naming it turns it into something you can solve. Being able to say "I have not been well for a while" instead of "it is just a busy patch" is the precondition for every step that follows.

2. Talk to someone you trust

Locke's calm reply played no small part in Newton's recovery. Sharing what you are going through with a friend, a family member or a business coach lets you see the situation through someone else's eyes. If the symptoms have lasted for weeks, are disrupting your daily life or come with thoughts of harming yourself, getting support from a mental health professional is not weakness; it is the right step.

3. Put sleep at the centre of your recovery

Newton put his own breakdown down first and foremost to his disrupted sleep. A mental breakdown is often the result of working too much, and the first reflex is to work even more. But a tired brain needs rest. Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, putting screens away before bed and cutting down on caffeine in the afternoon are simple but effective places to start.

4. Write your thoughts down

Thoughts circling in your head look bigger than they are. Once they are on paper, their edges become clearer. Newton's letters were confused, but by writing down what he felt he made it possible for his friends to reach out to him. Every evening, spend ten minutes writing down what is draining you most and the one small step you could take tomorrow.

5. Get your body moving

Staying inactive for long periods deepens a low mood. You do not need to go to the gym; even a short walk in daylight can shift your thoughts.

6. Change your routine

The last thirty years of Newton's life began with a change of scene: a new city, a new responsibility, a whole new job. Not everyone has the chance to make such a big change. But taking on a new responsibility at work, reorganising your working hours or adding something to your week that has nothing to do with work can bring a similar sense of renewal on a smaller scale. For a longer conversation about mental clarity, listen to episode 47 of Kafa Sohbetler, our podcast.

A fire that has run out of fuel: "burnout"

Today this state is often called "burnout". The word entered the psychology literature in 1974. Herbert Freudenberger, a German-born American clinical psychologist, observed the volunteers at a free clinic serving drug users, himself included, and published his paper "Staff Burn-Out". The symptoms he described were reminiscent of Newton's letters: exhaustion, headaches, sleeplessness, quickness to anger.

The image inside the word is simple: a fire that has run out of fuel. In 2019 the World Health Organization included burnout in ICD-11, not as a disease but as an "occupational phenomenon", defining it as the result of chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It has three signs: depleted energy, mental distance from or cynicism about one's job, and reduced professional efficacy.

The fire metaphor has a hopeful side too: a fire that has run out of fuel can be lit again. But first you need to see what fed it and what put it out.

A final word

Roughly two hundred years after Newton, the young William James, who would later become one of the founders of American psychology, was also going through a long dark period. On 30 April 1870 he wrote in his diary that the day before had been a turning point in his life, and made himself a resolution:

"My first act of free will shall be to believe in free will."

On the same page he noted that without habits of order already in place, one cannot advance to interesting work. What will your first small step be this week: going to bed an hour earlier, writing to a friend, or simply being able to say "I am not well"?