Am I Having a Spiritual Emergency?
Understand the signs, reduce fear, and get the right kind of support.
You’re Not Alone
And You’re Not “Losing It.”
Many people, at some point in life, encounter an experience that feels extraordinary, intense, and overwhelming — an encounter with something greater than themselves.
These moments can shake your sense of identity, disrupt your daily life, and leave you feeling isolated or misunderstood. But what if this experience wasn’t a breakdown, but a breakthrough?
At IMHU, we recognize these episodes as spiritual emergencies — natural, albeit difficult, passages in the journey of human transformation.
What Is a Spiritual Emergency?
A spiritual emergency is a type of psychological crisis that occurs when spiritual growth and awakening processes become intense, confusing, or destabilizing.
What begins as a spiritually transformative experience can become overwhelming, affecting your emotions, thoughts, body, and relationships.
It’s not a mental illness. It’s a call to transformation.
These episodes are part of what is known as spiritual emergence — a natural process of awakening to deeper dimensions of life, meaning, and interconnectedness. But when this emergence becomes too intense to integrate easily, it becomes a spiritual emergency.
What Can Initiate a Spiritual Emergency?
These experiences often arise in the wake of:
Intense spiritual practices (meditation, breathwork, fasting, long retreats)
Psychedelics/plant medicines (high dose, repeated use, poor integration)
Major life upheaval (grief, divorce, illness, sudden identity change)
Trauma + nervous system overload (sleep loss, chronic stress, isolation)
You might feel raw, unmoored, or profoundly altered. You might also feel as if no one around you understands what you’re going through.
A Checklist of What to Look For
Use the checklist below as a reflective guide.
The more items that resonate, the more support you may need.
Rapid shifts in perception (reality feels unreal, hyper-symbolic, or somehow distorted)
Sleep disruption (insomnia, racing energy, little need for rest)
Nervous system overwhelm (panic, tremors, surges, sensitivity to light/sound)
Flood of inner content (visions, voices, vivid dreams, intrusive imagery)
Loss of grounding (can’t track time, trouble with basic tasks, feeling destabilized)
Spiritual intensity feels urgent (compulsions, “missions,” fear of consequences)
Identity destabilization (ego dissolution, feeling like a different person)
Safety concerns (self-harm thoughts, risky behavior, can’t care for yourself)
A Natural (and Sometimes Painful) Part of Growth
Spiritual emergence is as natural as birth — and sometimes just as intense. In fact, it often shares a key quality with birth: it’s messy, overwhelming, and yet utterly transformative.
Your sense of self may dissolve. You may feel deeply sensitive or even frightened. You might lose the ability to engage with the world in your usual way. But none of this means you’re broken — it means you’re changing.
What You Can Do Now: Ground Yourself
Practicing simple self-care can help ease the process and restore balance:
Sleep & Rest – Prioritize deep, nourishing sleep
Nutrition – Eat grounding, healthy meals
Time in Nature – Reconnect with the earth (barefoot walking, sun, sky)
Gentle Movement – Hatha yoga, stretching, slow walking
Creative Expression – Journal, draw, dance, sing, or make art
Mindfulness & Breathwork – Calm your nervous system
Limit Stimulation – Reduce media, news, and tech exposure
Seek Safe Companionship – Don’t isolate
Free Resources Bundle of 6 Presentations
When someone is in crisis it can be scary…and we reach for information to help us understand what to do ASAP.
These presentations are brief and give you:
A Definition of Spiritual Emergency
Stories of Awakening from Experiencers
Resources for Residential Care
An Understanding of Integrative Mental Healthcare
The Power of Peer Specialists’ Support
When someone is in crisis it can be scary…and we reach for information to help us understand what to do ASAP.
You Deserve the Right Kind of Support
A person in spiritual emergency needs more than just clinical intervention.
You need wise, compassionate care from someone who understands the territory — someone who knows that spiritual awakening is not pathology, and who can walk alongside you with calm presence and insight.
This kind of support is rarely found in conventional hospital settings, but it’s exactly what we offer at IMHU.
Find a Spiritual Emergence Coach
Next Steps:
You’re Not Alone
We’ve trained over 135 certified Spiritual Emergence Coaches® to help individuals navigate spiritual emergencies with clarity, empathy, and depth.
You can:
This Is a Passage Not a Problem
Though it may feel like your world is falling apart, many who go through spiritual emergencies later describe it as the most meaningful experience of their lives.
With the right support and integration, this process can lead to:
A steadier nervous system — more calm, regulation, and resilience under stress.
A clearer sense of self — less performance-driven identity, more inner alignment.
Deeper meaning and purpose — life feels guided by values, not just achievement.
Emotional healing — old grief/trauma loosens; more self-compassion and softness.
Stronger intuition and discernment — more inner clarity without getting swept away.
More authentic relationships — better boundaries, deeper connection, less people-pleasing.
