Stop Overthinking: How to Actually Perform a Somatic Mental Health Check-In
By Aria — Your body is talking to you all the time. I'll help you learn the language. ·
It’s August in Denver, and the air is that specific kind of dry, golden-hour heat that makes you want to stop everything and just sit on a rock somewhere in the foothills. I spent last weekend up near Brainard Lake, and as I watched a marmot—who, let’s be honest, has a better handle on nervous system regulation than most of us—I started thinking about how we treat our 'mental health check-ins.'
Usually, we treat them like a pop quiz. We sit down, furrow our brows, and ask ourselves, “Am I happy? Am I stressed? Why am I feeling this way?” It’s a top-down approach. We are trying to use the thinking brain to analyze the feeling brain.
Here’s the catch: your prefrontal cortex—the part of you that’s asking the questions—is often the last to know what’s actually going on. Your body, however, has been screaming the answer for hours.
The Problem with 'Thinking' Your Way Through Feelings
When I was in university, my version of a mental health check-in was spiraling in the library bathroom while my heart rate hit 140 bpm. I’d try to 'think' my way out of it. I have a degree to finish. I am safe. Nothing is happening. It didn’t work. Medication helped take the edge off, sure, but it didn't teach me how to listen to the physiological data my body was broadcasting.
We’ve been conditioned to view mental health as a cognitive project. But mental health is somatic. It’s the tension in your jaw, the temperature of your palms, the way your breath hitches when you see an email notification. If you want to know how you’re doing, stop asking your brain. Start asking your biology.
Your Body’s Baseline vs. The Noise
To perform a real check-in, you need to understand your baseline. Most of us live in a state of low-grade sympathetic activation—that “fight or flight” hum. Because we’re always there, we assume it’s normal.
When you check in, you aren't looking for a 'good' or 'bad' label. You’re looking for data points. Are you contracted or expanded? Is your breath moving into your diaphragm, or are you chest-breathing like you’re ready to run a sprint? If you find yourself holding your breath while reading an email, your body is telling you that you perceive a threat—even if that 'threat' is just a spreadsheet.
The 3-Minute Somatic Audit
I don’t want you to journal for an hour about your childhood. I want you to spend three minutes noticing what is happening right now, in the physical shell you occupy.
1. The Scan (No, not the meditation kind): Start at your feet. Are they gripping the floor? Move to your pelvic floor—yes, we hold tension there. Move up to your jaw. If your teeth are touching, that’s a data point. You’re holding.
2. The Temperature Check: Are your hands cold? When we feel disconnected or anxious, blood flow moves away from the extremities toward the core. If your hands are ice-cold in the middle of an August afternoon, your nervous system is likely in a state of dorsal vagal shutdown—you’re physically withdrawing to protect yourself.
3. The Breath-to-Movement Ratio: Without changing your breath, just observe it. Is it jagged? Is it shallow? Is there a pause between the inhale and exhale? Don't fix it. Just acknowledge it. By simply noticing, you’re engaging your insula—the part of the brain that integrates internal sensory information. You’re literally turning the lights on in the basement.
Why 'Fixing' Isn't the Goal
This is where people get frustrated. They do the audit, realize they’re stressed, and immediately try to 'fix' it with deep breathing. But if you force a deep breath when your body is in a state of high-alert, you’re just layering more control on top of the tension.
Instead, try 'titration.' If you notice your shoulders are up to your ears, don’t try to force them down. Just drop them a millimeter. If you notice your jaw is clenched, wiggle it just enough to break the seal. Work with the nervous system, not against it. It’s like training a nervous puppy; you don’t yell at it to sit, you gently guide it toward the behavior you want.
Moving Forward
Learning the language of your body is a practice, not a destination. Some days, you’ll be incredibly attuned. Other days, you’ll be halfway through a panic attack before you realize your breath has been stuck for twenty minutes. That’s okay. The fact that you noticed at all is a win.
Your body is a reliable narrator. It doesn't lie, it doesn't sugarcoat, and it doesn't have an ego. It just tells you the truth about your state of being.
So, before you head into your next meeting or start your evening, take those three minutes. Check the temperature of your hands, feel the weight of your heels on the ground, and listen to what the machine is saying. It’s usually much simpler than your brain makes it out to be.
How did your body feel while you were reading this? Did anything shift? I’d love to hear what you noticed. Drop a comment below or send me a message—let’s talk about what your system is telling you today.