Crisis Management

A crisis takes place when problems are too much for you to handle. Often people experience panic attacks at this time where the heart races, you feel short of breath, and think you will faint. There are a special set of tools you can use at this time to calm yourself down.

At times of crisis, our brains don’t have access to logical thought so please keep things simple.

Here are the top ten things you need to do when you find yourself in a crisis:

1.) Breathe: Rapid heartbeat can be a result of lack of oxygen. Often in stressful situations, people will hold their breath. Fill your lungs with air and exhale. Repeat.

2.) Drink water: Lack of hydration can lead to high levels of anxiety. Drink slowly as your breathing normalizes.

3.) Relaxation: It has been proven that you cannot be anxious when you are relaxed. To help you relax, reduce the stimulation in the room by lowering the lights and volume of music.

4.) Grounding: Place your bare feet on the ground. This will allow all your nervous energy to make its way down through your feet and into the Earth. There are other methods to ground yourself. Water can be beneficial – take a shower or a bath. Also hugging someone is grounding.

5.) Inner Child Work: Fear is emotional and your emotions must be addressed. When in a crisis, follow that feeling back in time to the younger part inside of you that went through a crisis. Yes, that part of you is still alive and afraid and just got triggered. The quick way to communicate with the younger self is by placing your dominant hand on your belly (the location of your inner child) and saying calming words to him or her. Then switch hands and allow your inner child to communicate back. This can be achieved on paper through opposite handwriting. Your dominant hand represents your current self and the opposite hand represents your younger self. Give your younger self a voice. Allow him or her to tell you how they feel. Ask them what they want from you in order to feel better.

Note: In a recent session the younger self wanted to hold its cat, who had been dead for years. The client was given a stuffed animal to act as if that was the cat and was assisted in talking to it and sending it love.

6.) Therapy: Anxiety disorders don’t go away on their own. There is usually something from the past that needs to be worked through and emotional work is what is needed.

7.) Free Form Writing: Getting things off your chest is extremely important in a crisis. If nobody is around to talk to you, or you don’t feel safe doing so, write things out on some paper and purge your thoughts. When complete rip up the paper or burn it, in order to be done with those thoughts.

8.) To-Do List: Often, people are stressed out if they have too much on their plate. Take the time to write out a to-do list and prioritize it. Ask yourself, “Do I really have to take care of that item today?” Or, ask yourself if you need to do it at all? Getting somebody else to help out can also be beneficial if you have overextended yourself.

9.) Renegotiation: How often do you feel obligated to do something and lack any desire to do so? Many have created unrealistic deadlines or other commitments and all it takes is a quick phone call or text message asking for the meeting or deadline to be pushed back. There are no “Have to’s” in life. You can say no. A lot of anxiety results in somebody constantly following the dictates of another person. At first it may help them reduce their own stress, but after a while people may have given in so many times they become overwhelmed. It is okay to say no.

10.) A positive mindset: Often, one thought can lead to a panic attack. When we focus on what we don’t want, we create it. Instead of focusing on the worst thing that can happen, focus on the best thing that you want. To retrain your brain, set positive intentions. For example: “My intention is to be calm”.  Or use an affirmation: “I am calm”.  Our mind is very powerful and if we focus on what we don’t want we create it. If we focus on what we do want we create that.

Compassionate Care is Always Available

There are many more tools and strategies you can use in your pursuit of happiness. Here is where we come in. Contact us at Basic Steps Mental Health and let us support and educate you on this journey back to your loving heart center. Imagine living a heart-centered life, regardless of what is happening externally. We’d love to be of help.

For 25 years, Dr. Scott Alpert, the clinical director of Basic Steps Mental Health, has treated over 7,000 people with mental health and addiction problems, using a Psychological approach that mixes and matches ten of the top approaches used in the industry.  We are here virtually and in person to help you get through this COVID-19 pandemic and many other difficulties you may be experiencing.

May you have good mental health.