There is no doubt that recognizing that you are currently experiencing emotional distress is the first step to solving this issue.
What is important to highlight in this respect is that you may not even know that you experience emotional distress. You may simply think that you have just had another bad day or that you have been feeling blue lately. For this reason, you need to pay more attention to the signs of emotional distress in order to act fast. The thing is that you will not have to deal with a huge amount of consequences in such a way.
Talking to someone who has also experienced emotional distress might actually be really useful as you will be able to hear a few tips that are actually working. All in all, talking about all kinds of experiences you have is a really great idea as it gives you the opportunity to dwell upon all those issues which have been bothering you for so long. Attending a group of people with similar problems will be helpful.