How do you deal with the crisis situations?
Just a few months ago, we’ve never heard about a word corona virus and Covid-19. Nowadays is enough to incite fear in many people. Breaking news updates with the latest infection statistics and guidelines from national authorities, like #StayHome …seems to me understandable why so many people are still in a chronic state of panic because our minds are easily get hooked onto fear-inducing news headlines such as that it can be very challenging to gain perspective on the situation when we have already entered crisis mode.
Perception is projection
So what we do? We start to catastrophize and picturing the worst-case scenario. The other day I red an article in one Journal of Medicine that describes Covid-19 as exclusively, a moral panic, since 0.0001% of the world’s population has been infected. Nevertheless, in spite of this low-level of infection, the world has entered a state of international crisis – severe quarantine measures introduced, borders and schools have been closed, large public gatherings cancelled, …in spite of the risk of dying from this virus for an otherwise healthy adult is minimal. If even the WHO director-general said that a Covid-19 pandemic would be the first pandemic that could be controlled, I deduce than that we human aren’t and should not allow to be a hostage and at the mercy of the Covid-19.
Yet, even with this knowledge, many are still frightened being bombarded by a negative and cataclysmic news headlines. It’s OK because the reason for this is largely to do with how our mind and body respond to a perceived crisis. Remember that the perception is just our projection. That is a subject ”per se”
You probably know (or you do not) that the only way humans experience the outside world, is through our perceptions Hence, we perceive many things: what someone means when they talk to us, what is going on, etc. The world is a reflection of our inner thoughts, feelings, values, beliefs. Pretty much everything is what’s inside of us.
Perception and projection are two psychological processes and they are both values-neutral, meaning neither good nor bad in themselves. What does it mean? It means that people repress stuff in their minds which they find hard to cope with. This ‘stuff’ is made up of emotions and feelings about ourselves, other people, and the world, as well as with negative and limited beliefs and ideas, What’s interesting is that people repress good things about themselves, stuff they might have had difficulty accepting at the time they repressed it, as well as the more obviously negative things.
So, everything that we perceive outside of us is a projection of what we perceive inside of us. Our perceptions of people and whatever is happening around us, events…All these is a projection from inside of us, mostly at the unconscious level. We can change, learn, and create more and more of what we want in our perceptions of other people and circumstances and situations. We see our own unacknowledged mistakes and blind-spots in others.
How Can You Help Yourself?
I do not claim that I’m an expert on the Covid-19, however, I can help you understand why you feel panic in situations like these and give you tips to help you stay calm.
What happens when you enter ‘crisis-mode’ – I don’t mean only that related to the Covid-19 epidemic?
When you are confronted with a crisis, your mind goes into survival mode. This is also known as the ‘fight or flight’ response. So, when you’re faced with a threat (or a perceived threat), your body responds by releasing the stress hormones: adrenaline and cortisol that rush increases the heart rate and blood pressure and causes your breath to become shallow and rapid.
Your response to a crisis depends on your past experiences and preconceived ideas of what constitutes a threat. This is why some of us appear to be ‘cool in a crisis’ because these people have a different approach and perspective.
I can teach you to be calm in a crisis too. There are a number of ways to keep your cool, from breathing techniques to changing how you think about the situation.
What can you do to stay calm in a crisis?
Let me share with you few simple activities what you can do to help yoursel. You surely CAN:
Focus on present – here and now – you can contact me for more information or online consultations
Look after yourself – Find an activity that is just for you that benefits your well-being. Try to do one thing each day which brings you joy, and you know what is it. This act of self-care will help you stay positive and reduce stress.
Change your perspective – maybe you can not control outside events, but you surely can decide how you want to feel about something. You can choose how to respond. What you can do in such situation is to change your inner narrative and stop using catastrophizing language in how you think and talk about the situation. Stop using phrases like “it is a horror” or “the doomsday.” You know why? Because your mind doesn’t know the difference between the ”reality” and a fiction and it will always accept whatever you tell it as reality and therefore, not provide you with a resourceful solution.
Go on and say ” Sure, this is a challenge, and I can make it”. When you do this, your mind hears that you have a situation that can be dealt with, even an opportunity. Remember that the words and phrases you use not only verbally but also mentally will either minimize or maximize stress.
Talk about how you feel – If you share what’s bothers you you will halve a problem. When you are faced with a crisis, talking about it with a family member, a friend or a counsellor or a coach will help you gain perspective.
Make sure you find time to relax in a smart way – without smart devices – True relaxation is an alien feeling for many of us. Take time out to dedicate to relaxing your mind and body. Sleep does not count here! Relaxing activities such as prayers, guided meditation stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and helps to reduce the feelings of stress and its impact. Hence, the more you are able to actively relax, the more you will be able to maintain a state of calm in your daily life.
Enjoy Your Life – even when life seems to you very tough and challenging. You can make it. Move on.
