
In acute psychological distress, adaptive resources are often technically available yet behaviorally inaccessible. This paper proposes a conceptual extension of the Natural Criticality Hypothesis of Subjective Time (CLaE, 2026) to explain a recurrent clinical asymmetry: direct demands for problem-solving or referral often fail at the very moment they are most needed, whereas low-cost embodied acts—sitting, drinking water, wrapping the body in warmth, speaking a few words—may sometimes reduce urgency enough to reopen a path toward safer action. We argue that acute distress involves not only a reduction in action-readiness density r(t), but a narrowing of its output allocation. Residual readiness may be present but behaviorally captured by a small set of urgent, collapse-prone trajectories. We term the redirection of residual readiness into safer behavioral channels safe reallocation, and derive testable predictions along with clinical and design implications for digital mental health systems.
behavioral narrowing, crisis intervention, safe reallocation, natural criticality hypothesis, digital mental health, acute distress, action readiness density, subjective time
behavioral narrowing, crisis intervention, safe reallocation, natural criticality hypothesis, digital mental health, acute distress, action readiness density, subjective time
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