Losing awareness

I have been dealing with negative mental states in my practice. When it gets overwhelming I lose my sense of mindfulness and get lost in the middle of all the noise and I guess I identify with it, otherwise I wouldn't feel pain when it happens. Is it a good idea to bring myself back to the breath or should I face this? I usually try to accept the experience and the moment but it usually brings more pain because I can't see clearly what I am going through. Namasté