WELL BEING AND QUALITY OF LIFE
Support Activities Developed by:
Michael C. Irving, Ph.D. and Cheryl Irving, B.A., Psychotherapists

CREATING A LIST FOR COPING WITH CRISIS

What to do in a crisis

The following are some ideas for the kinds of things that may go on a "What to do in a crisis" list. These are not presented as comprehensive lists and they are not the right list for any one particular person.

It is important for you to come up with you own personalized coping strategy lists

Managing A Crisis

What To Do In a Crisis is probably the most important list you can have. When you are feeling overwhelmed is the most difficult time to know what you should do to stabilize.

Managing a crisis is about lowering the degree of suffering you are in and reconnecting with some form of empowerment and hope. You do not have to continue to suffer.

The worst thing you faced was the original abuse and you made it through that. Now you can find a way to manage the memories and flashbacks that occur.

Using your personal ways of grounding and turing to other people are important at times of crisis. You do not have to be alone with your despair. You can call a friend, support group member or therapist.

If you cannot contact someone in your personal support system, call a crisis line, distress centre or help phone.

Have help and crisis line phone numbers on your crisis list. There are many up to date web sites listing 24-hour Crisis and Suicide Lines. If you do not have a support line you have used before, look in the front of the phone book.

 

One of the most important items on a crisis list is the directive to “GO BACK TO THE TOP OF THIS LIST.” This instruction is telling you there is hope and that you just need to review your crisis list another time to find something that will help you right now.

You manage a crisis by working towards grounding and getting back into the here and now. To ground and return to the present when you are upset you often requires doing something about overwhelming feelings from the past.

Feelings are managed by processing them and letting them go, by burning up enough stress associated with the feelings, by getting nurture and understanding that assists with healing and repatterning or by finding some form of distraction.

These are each different responses and they are each good responses in their own time. Often a crisis is managed by employing a combination of coping and healing strategies.

A crisis can help clarify and bring to a head certain emotional issues and personality patterns that one avoids because of the severity of trauma and buried pain associated with concern. Therapy sessions or personal processing of issues can be a quite beneficial element of managing a crisis.

LIST #4 Make Yourself a List of "What to do in a crisis"

• Phone my therapist.
• Phone a friend.
• See my support person or sponsor.
• Breathe deeply.
• Count to 100.
• Remind myself of mylocation, the time, the date.
• Put a clock or calendar near me to help with being oriented.
• Look around the room.
• Find a comfortable or safe location.
• Go for a fast walk.
• Punch a pillow.
• Remind myself of my accomplishments.
• Look a photo albums of good times.
• Make a therapy appointment.
• Take a day off.
• Go to work.
• Find comfort, healing or understanding on the Survivor Monument web site.
• Read a self help book.
• Read a good novel.
• Read trash fiction.
• Watch TV.
• Watch a Movie.
• Organize or clean the house.
• Eat comfort food.
• Exercise real hard.
• Meditate.
• Listen to Meditation Music
• Do yoga.
• Paint.
• Sculpt.
• Pound clay.
• Bake.
• Write in my journal.
• Cry for awhile.
• Swear or mumble gibberish to let go
• Call a crisis line.
• Go back to the top of this list

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