Coping with Crisis and Trauma
Menanteau Serfontein – 16 July 2021
“Crises are part of life. Everybody has to face them, and it doesn’t make any difference what the crisis is.” Jack Nicklaus
“Crisis is what suppressed pain looks like; it always comes to the surface. It shakes you into reflection and
healing.” Bryant McGill
“I understand that it’s hard for everyone, but one cannot give in to emotions… we’ll have to draw lessons from the current crisis and now we’ll have to work on overcoming it.” Boris Yeltsin
“When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters — one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.” John F. Kennedy
A “Crisis” is a time of intense difficulty or danger, a catastrophe or a tragedy. It is often a time when difficult and important decisions must be made.
“Trauma” is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. A crisis and trauma often go hand in hand.
- Are you facing a crisis and/or trauma at the moment, or have you ever had to deal with a crisis in the past?
- If so, how did you deal with it and what did you learn from it?
Lately, the world seems to be lurching from one crisis to another. We are experiencing a serious global pandemic in the form of Covid-19, dramatic changes to the way that we conduct our daily lives, economic uncertainty and an array of natural disasters as well as serious social unrest (such as the current civil unrest in South Africa). Then there are personal traumas that people are also dealing with, such as the loss of a loved one, declining health, unemployment, divorce, violent crime, or tragic accidents. For many, this is a time of unprecedented struggle and upheaval.
Most people encounter some form of crisis and/or trauma from time to time. (Note: In the interest of simplicity, the term “crisis” will hereafter be used which will include trauma as well.)
People tend to perceive and react to crisis situations differently. Two people who are facing the same crisis and whose circumstances are very similar, often respond differently to the crisis. The one might perceive it as much more serious than the other – and the way that they respond to the crisis could also be completely different. Some of the reasons for this could include psychological make-up, the extent of their resilience, past experience in dealing with crises and the practical impact of the crisis upon their personal circumstances such as their financial position.
The purpose of this article is to provide some practical general “Principles and Guidelines” for coping with crisis situations.
Remain Calm and Manage Your Feelings and Emotions
One of the most important principles is to remain as calm as possible and to process/manage your feelings as well as your emotions in such a way that it enables you to think as rationally as possible and to make sound decisions. If you don’t remain calm and don’t keep your feelings and emotions in check, you run the risk of panicking, which will make it very difficult if not impossible to make wise decisions.
Crisis situations are often highly stressful and it is therefore important to recognise this and to manage your stress as best you can. If you don’t, you could become overwhelmed, ineffective and “frozen in the headlights” (paralysed). It is important to be as resilient as possible.
It is indeed necessary for us to be aware of current events and what is going on in the world, however avoid spending too much time on social media or watching television to follow a crisis unfolding, such as the current civil unrest in South Africa. The danger of falling into this trap, is that it tends to unsettle you and it could be a trigger to create fear, anxiety, anger, helplessness etc.
View the realities of the situation in proper perspective
Do your best to make an objective and factual assessment of the realities of the situation so that you neither catastrophize (i.e. exaggerating the importance or magnitude of events or facts, expecting the worst outcome) nor excessively downplay the seriousness of the issues concerned.
Don’t pay attention to unverified rumours, fake news and conspiracy theories
In crisis situations there are always unfounded rumours, fake news, conspiracy theories, opinions and predictions doing the rounds, that are often conflicting. Don’t assume that what you read or hear is necessarily true. It is essential to go out of your way to verify the facts related to a given issue or event, before you decide whether something is true or false. There could be dire consequences if decisions are made that are based on incorrect information. In addition, the nature of fake news is often misleading and unsettling, causing panic, confusion, uncertainty, fear and anxiety which are potentially debilitating conditions that could make it difficult to think straight and to make wise decisions.
Pray
Pray and ask God to fill you with peace, calmness and wisdom to make sound decisions, as well as strength and courage to do what has to be done.
Identify what you have control over and what not
It is essential to identify which aspects are within your control and to take appropriate action in respect of those issues. You should also determine which aspects are outside of your control and to remember that we have a loving God who promises to lead us beside quiet waters and to be with us when we walk through dark valleys (Psalm 23).
Patience (Don’t over-react)
There is always the danger of being keen to take action quickly (often prematurely), which one should guard against. On the one hand there is a danger in not acting fast enough, but on the other hand, rushed decisions and actions often go awry when all the relevant issues and possible pros and cons haven’t been thought through properly. Focus on the most important and urgent things and if at all possible, remain patient until you have complete certainty about what the best decision is.
A crisis normally becomes a main priority and often requires most of your attention. This means paring down your normal responsibilities. Whatever is of lessor importance and urgency, should be set aside for attention until after the crisis is over.
Find support
In the case of a more serious crisis that is accompanied by personal trauma, you will often need outside support and assistance to deal with it and to overcome remnants of it after the crisis has been resolved. Support could be in the form of a relative, friend, mentor, counsellor etc. In serious cases, it may well be necessary to seek professional help, e.g. seeing a psychologist.
Care for yourself
It is often convenient to neglect your physical health and overall wellbeing during a crisis. It is essential to retain your healthy diet, get enough sleep, and do other things to keep your body and mental functioning at its best. Physical exercise is also a highly effective way of reducing stress levels and helps you to function more efficiently and effectively in most situations. Guard against sitting in a corner feeling sorry for yourself.
If at all possible, keep yourself busy with things you normally enjoy, such as watching a movie, reading a good book or gardening. This will help to take your mind off things and relieve some of the stress that you’re going through.
A Personal Note
From personal experience, I know that we always learn from going through and overcoming a crisis. I also know that a crisis can offer opportunities to start something new and to advance towards something better.
I hope that these general principles and guidelines will assist you in dealing with your current crisis or a possible future crisis that you might encounter.
“Don’t wait until you’re in a crisis to come up with a crisis plan.” Phil McGraw
