When a crisis occurs you can go through a series of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual changes. Understanding the wide variety of possible responses is important. Then you can manage the crisis effectively.
Doing these exercises will enable you to:
This technique was designed to assist someone with a personal medical crisis. It can be used for any other personal crisis, including one due to a friend or loved one in crisis. It can even be used to view a political or environmental problem from a personal, national or international point of view.
The kinds of situations that can create an atmosphere of crisis are numerous. What may be a crisis for you might not be for someone else. Also, the situation that creates a crisis for another might seem less important to you. Some examples of precipitating events:
As a reaction to your crisis you can undergo a series of mental and emotional changes that might include feelings of:
It is possible for someone to spontaneously go through all these states; it's not likely. It's common that these and other states would be entered, left and reentered several times. Sometimes the transitions can be very quick. Go through the entire list and ask yourself to what extent you feel shock, confusion, denial, etc. After you have completed the list you're ready for the next step Level Two.
If your stress level is too uncomfortable consult the information on relaxation techniques. Tranquilizers can also be used for short term coping. If you're having trouble sleeping read about insomnia. Occasional use of sleeping pills may be helpful.