Healing Through Talking to Your Mat: Recognizing the Signs of a Mental Health Crisis

Spending time on your yoga mat provides valuable insights into yourself. It can also alert you when you may need more help than quiet mindful practices can provide. Learning to recognize and respond to the signs of a mental health crisis can be among the most powerful healing work you do. 

What are the signs of a mental health crisis? Here’s what to ask yourself the next time you talk to your mat and how to reach out for help. 

Please remember that the folks on the Only in Sedona crew are not licensed mental health practitioners. We are fellow travelers on a healing journey. We always recommend checking with a licensed healthcare provider before taking actions that may impact your well-being.

Recognizing the Signs of a Mental Health Crisis — Questions to Ask

Once upon a time, people referred to mental health crises as “nervous breakdowns.” In a sense, the old-fashioned term, if now considered politically incorrect, is descriptive in a way. While various stressors can prompt a mental health crisis, they nearly always go down with a super-sized helping of emotional dysregulation, thanks to the turmoil in your nervous system. 

The problem is that it's hard to recognize when you reach that tipping point, especially in a crisis. Your amygdala may “hijack” your reason, initiating your fight-or-flight response, pumping up stress hormones, and telling you that you need to take action right now [1]. This older, more primitive part of your brain can ride a rickshaw over your logical, reasonable prefrontal cortex, driving impulsive behaviors when a pause, followed by mindful, deliberate, and intentioned effort would serve you better [2]. 

Spending time talking to your mat while asking yourself the right questions can help you recognize the signs of a mental health crisis. Reflect on the following: 

• Have I recently increased my drug or alcohol use? Why? 
• Have I been eating too much or too little? Have I suddenly developed an enormous appetite or lost it entirely? 
• Have I been sleeping too much, restlessly, or not at all? 
• Have I experienced other physical symptoms that have no explanation, like increased aches and pains with no obvious cause (like a bruise)? Have I experienced sweating, shaking, upset stomach, or breathing difficulties? 
• Am I finding it more difficult to perform everyday tasks, like getting out of bed in the morning, bathing, paying the bills, and washing the dishes? 
• Have I experienced frequent mood swings of late? 
• Have I recently experienced any major life changes (death, pregnancy, birth, relocation, lost job, starting or stopping mental health treatment, etc.), that I don’t feel as if I have fully processed? 
• Have I isolated myself from others, including peers, coworkers, and even family members? 
• Have other people asked me if something is wrong? Have other people commented on changes in my attitude or behavior? 
• Have I lost interest in things that formerly brought me joy, like my hobbies, work, or schooling? 
• Have I been tempted to engage in self-harm or reckless activities, such as excessive speeding or weaving in and out of traffic? 
• Have I felt “not fully there,” or as if I am having an “out-of-body” experience, a lot lately? Have I recognized any hallucinations or delusions (it can be tricky to spot these distortions in yourself, and a trained mental health provider’s help can be invaluable here).
• Have I engaged in abusive or violent behavior? 
• Have I had recurrent intrusive thoughts of suicide or contemplated a plan? Please dial 988 if you feel you are at imminent risk of death by suicide or text 741-741. 

Reflecting on these questions during slow, contemplative practices like Yin or restorative yoga can sometimes lend insight into what’s wrong. It can also point you toward the steps you must take to get to feeling better. Sometimes, there’s not much you can do except avoid making an already-bad situation worse, but awareness of the issue allows you to approach it mindfully, not impulsively. That alone can make a big shift in your reality. 

What to Do If You Suspect You Are in a Mental Health Crisis 

You recognized one or more of the above signs, and are concerned you may be in a mental health crisis. Now what? Much depends on which resources you have at your disposal. However, lifelines exist to help folks through the crisis. 

If You’re in Immediate Danger, Call 911

Every state has emergency hold laws for mental health crises, even if you are indigent, but these vary from state to state [3]. A secure mental health facility may hold you for as few as 23 hours to as many as ten days or more until authorities deem you are no longer a danger to yourself or others. Your best bet is to report to the ER or call 911, as they can initiate this process. Be honest: there’s no shame in going to the ER and saying, “I feel I’m at imminent risk of taking my own life.” 

A tip from someone who has been there: if at all possible, initiate the hold yourself, and have a reliable friend or family on the outside who knows where you are and can offer support. Such facilities often strictly restrict contact with the outside world during stabilization, so you won’t likely have access to your phone, let alone a computer. Write down or memorize the phone number of your contact so you can use the facility’s phone to reach out when permitted and take your favorite comfort objects with you. While you may not be able to have them at first, you’ll often be allowed a stuffed animal or favorite pajamas once the staff approves of them. The little things can make a big difference in your overall comfort during your stay. 

If You Aren’t at Imminent Risk

If you recognize the signs of a mental health crisis but aren’t in immediate danger of self-harm or going on a dangerous bender, the following tips can help you re-regulate your nervous system: 

• Talk with your doctor. In the United States, your primary care doctor can be a crucial liaison connecting you with the right mental health provider, as they already work with your insurer. Ask them for a referral if necessary, a recommendation if not. You can also find a mental health provider by calling your insurer directly or use a site like FindTreatment.gov. 
• Check the marketplace. If your mental health crisis arose from a sudden change in your life circumstances, such as the loss of a loved one or losing a job, check with Healthcare.gov. You may qualify to switch plans or get on a plan if you don’t have one already. Seek one that offers comprehensive mental health coverage if that is your primary area of concern.
• Explore the world of apps: Mental health apps can help if you don’t have insurance — or sometimes, even if you do. For example, Talkiatry and Brightspace both work with insurers. Others, like Better Help and Calm, may allow you to use your HSA or FSA to pay for services. Some, like 7 Cups, are free. 
• Eat a healthy diet: What you put in your body may impact your mood and outlook. A diet rich in pre- and probiotics, omega-3s and magnesium alone may ease some mild symptoms, especially when combined with talk therapy or other modalities to encourage nervous system calm. 
• Avoid inflammatory food, drink and substances: Ultra-processed foods often offer scant nutritional benefits, and too much white flour and sugar can increase inflammation [4]. Likewise, avoid alcohol, as it does a number on your neurotransmitters and mood [5]. Suffice it to say, you should avoid illegal street drugs and those not prescribed to you. Even caffeine can adversely affect some sensitive individuals, so ease off on that, and the nicotine, too, if you still smoke. 
• Avoid toxic headspaces, too: This tip was a big one for me, prompting me to leave Twitter earlier this year and Facebook more recently. It’s not that there’s anything inherently wrong with either platform, but they were not good for me or my mental health. If social media likewise brings you down, cut back or switch to an alternative platform like YouTube or Reddit, where it's less about a cult of personality and more about what you can learn. Likewise, if there are people in your life who always trigger you, now’s the time to isolate yourself from them a bit whenever possible. If you share a home with them, can you create a safe space? If you conflict with a colleague, can you work from home or switch departments? 
• Be good to you: Now is not the time to train for a marathon or enroll in medical school, at least if you can avoid it. While hardcore training may temporarily take your mind off your troubles for some people, the stuff you leave unprocessed will most likely come back to haunt you when you least expect (or need!) it. Instead, dial back your commitments, recognize that your body reacts to mental trauma like a physical wound, and give yourself time to settle, to simply be. 

Recognizing the Signs of a Mental Health Crisis on the Mat 

Your mat is the perfect place to check in with yourself. Usually, this step looks like taking your temperature, simply observing what you see. However, if you recognize the signs of a mental health crisis, it's time to take action. Determine the degree of emergency, and then mindfully take the next steps necessary to get back to feeling like yourself again. 

References:

1. Holland, Kimberly. “Amygdala Hijack: When Emotion Takes Over.” Healthline. April 18, 2025. Accessed November 17, 2025, from: https://www.healthline.com/health/stress/amygdala-hijack 

2. “Prefrontal cortex.” Cleveland Clinic. ND. Accessed November 17, 2025, from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/prefrontal-cortex 

3. Burris, Scott, et. al., “State Laws on Emergency Holds for Mental Health Stabilization.” Psychiatry Online. February 29, 2016. Accessed November 17, 2025, from: https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.201500205 

4. Rath, Linda. “Reduce Sugar for Better Health.” Arthritis Foundation. May 28, 2024. Accessed November 17, 2025, from: https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/nutrition/foods-to-limit/sugar 

5. “How Alcohol Affects Your Brain’s Neurotransmitters.” Awakenings Treatment Center. January 30, 2025. Accessed November 17, 2025, from: https://www.awakeningstreatment.com/blog/how-alcohol-affects-your-brains-neurotransmitters/