go to pieces
if a person or what they do goes to pieces, they are so upset or nervous that they cannot live, work, or perform as they should

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

go to pieces
to lose confidence in yourself and feel you have no control over events.
After he and Edna divorced, Art went to pieces.

His world fell to pieces in 1966 when civil war broke out in Nigeria.

Related vocabulary: fall apart
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of fall to pieces (= separate into small parts)
go/fall to pieces
1.
if someone goes to pieces, they become so upset that they are unable to control their feelings or think clearly.
I kept my composure throughout the funeral, but I went to pieces after everyone had gone home.

2.
to suddenly fail completely.
After winning the British Open last year, his game has really gone to pieces.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

go to pieces
to lose one's self-control
The woman went to pieces when she learned about her father's death.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

go to pieces
v. phr. To become very nervous or sick from nervousness; become wild.
Mrs. Vance went to pieces when she heard her daughter was in the hospital.
The man went to pieces when the judge said he would have to go to prison for life.
Mary goes to pieces when she can't have her own way.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲