There can’t be many people who sail through their lives without facing some kind of crisis, and for most of us, there’ll be a fair few major difficulties in our lives. What constitutes a crisis is rather subjective, and will also depend on your circumstances, for example, snagging your tights as you get to work is a minor nuisance at most; unless you are just about to deliver a major presentation, or attend a critical interview. The three steps of crisis management are to remain calm and focused, assess the situation logically and with as much information as possible, and seek out the appropriate help.
Remaining calm
If you come to find you have been in an accident, for example, and your car has crashed, you’ll be disoriented and possibly injured. Panicking about your situation won’t help, but staying as calm as possible will. Firstly, you are clearly alive, and that’s the most important thing. Breathing exercises are invaluable for calming you down, clearing your head, and oxygenating your brain, so when you come to, breathe as deeply as you can. Long, slow breaths can help you to remain calm.
Assessing the situation
Once you’ve dealt with the initial shock of your crisis situation, you need to assess what’s going on and decide how to act. If your home has been broken into and trashed, your best chance of catching those responsible is to leave everything exactly as it is until the scene has been forensically examined.
If your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, you should put out warning triangles to slow up other traffic, assess how safe you are, and take yourself away from the car if it’s in a dangerous spot.
Sometimes the assessment will take seconds, for example, if your child has stopped breathing you know you must act immediately; what’s important is to use those few seconds wisely so that you follow the course of action that’s likely to result in the best possible outcome.
Seeking help
If someone’s seriously ill or injured, then the logical step would be to seek help, and in this case, you would need to call for an ambulance. If you’ve been a victim of a crime, then the police will need to be told. These are actions that everyone understands from an early age. However, for some crisis situations, emergency services may not be required, or you may need additional assistance when the initial situation has been dealt with. That’s when you need to think about professional services that can help you with the aftermath. For example, you might need the services of an attorney such as Rosenbaum PLLC to give you legal advice and support. You might need to see a professional counselor to help you recover from a traumatic experience, or you might need physiotherapy after an injury. Hoping everything will turn out ok is not the best way to deal with difficult situations, and it’s far better to find the best people to help you so you can avoid further stress and inconvenience.
No-one knows for sure how they’ll cope in a crisis until it happens, but preparing yourself and following these steps will help you manage if the worst should happen.
