diff --git a/cogs/chat.py b/cogs/chat.py
index 4ecde05..a8fbb2e 100644
--- a/cogs/chat.py
+++ b/cogs/chat.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import asyncio
 import logging
 from collections import deque
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -125,6 +126,18 @@ class ChatCog(commands.Cog):
                 {"role": "assistant", "content": response}
             )
 
+        # Wait for any pending sentiment analysis to finish first so
+        # warnings/mutes appear before the chat reply
+        sentiment_cog = self.bot.get_cog("SentimentCog")
+        if sentiment_cog:
+            key = (message.channel.id, message.author.id)
+            task = sentiment_cog._debounce_tasks.get(key)
+            if task and not task.done():
+                try:
+                    await asyncio.wait_for(asyncio.shield(task), timeout=15)
+                except (asyncio.TimeoutError, asyncio.CancelledError):
+                    pass
+
         await message.reply(response, mention_author=False)
         logger.info(
             "Chat reply in #%s to %s: %s",
diff --git a/cogs/sentiment.py b/cogs/sentiment.py
index a6721d1..20f45a6 100644
--- a/cogs/sentiment.py
+++ b/cogs/sentiment.py
@@ -96,8 +96,12 @@ class SentimentCog(commands.Cog):
         if existing_task and not existing_task.done():
             existing_task.cancel()
 
-        # Start new debounce timer
-        batch_window = config.get("sentiment", {}).get("batch_window_seconds", 3)
+        # Skip debounce when bot is @mentioned so warnings fire before chat replies
+        if self.bot.user in message.mentions:
+            batch_window = 0
+        else:
+            batch_window = config.get("sentiment", {}).get("batch_window_seconds", 3)
+
         self._debounce_tasks[key] = asyncio.create_task(
             self._debounce_then_process(key, batch_window)
         )
diff --git a/config.yaml b/config.yaml
index a7ca6f7..db4d693 100644
--- a/config.yaml
+++ b/config.yaml
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@ monitoring:
 
 sentiment:
   warning_threshold: 0.6
-  mute_threshold: 0.75
+  mute_threshold: 0.65
   spike_warning_threshold: 0.5  # Single message score that triggers instant warning
-  spike_mute_threshold: 0.8  # Single message score that triggers instant mute
+  spike_mute_threshold: 0.7  # Single message score that triggers instant mute
   context_messages: 8  # Number of previous messages to include as context
   rolling_window_size: 10  # Number of messages to track per user
   rolling_window_minutes: 15  # Time window for tracking