Kıymet Sağlık EROZ
It is unexpected events and situations that create the crisis. Managing these moments of crisis in business and private life requires transforming some behaviors into life practices, along with a change in perspective. But first, let’s take a look at the changes that take place in our body and mind during these events.
In situations of stress, anger and anxiety created by crisis moments, biological changes begin in our body as the stress hormone cortisol is secreted. Our hands shake, our muscles tighten, our blood circulation accelerates, our pupils enlarge, our breathing is impaired and our heart rate increases. The ability to reason is reduced. The amygdala in the brain, which we call the primitive self, comes into play, causing us to give a “fight or flight” response. In fact, there is no actual war situation. If you are extroverted and proactive, you tend to fight, and if you are introverted and reactive, you tend to run away. In either case, you may lose healthy decision-making skills.
Victor Frankl, in his book Man’s Search for Meaning, states: “There is a gap between stimulus and response. It is in this gap that we have the power to choose our response. And that response is the expression of our maturity and freedom”. Thus, the author draws attention to the savior and instructiveness of that void in moments of crisis. It is very important to be able to stop in order to evaluate this moment of emptiness. In crisis situations, the mind comes into play first. As our mind wanders through the negative experiences of the past and the anxieties of the future, it begins to produce bad scenarios. These negative scenarios and negative thought patterns that increase stress and anxiety create an anxiety almost as much as they have experienced the situation by thinking about the worst and cause it to continue in a cycle. These negative, unrealistic fictions and thoughts trigger negative emotions created in us by our social environment, 90% of which is made up of our parents, between the ages of 0-7. In fact, no event or person can create a new negative emotion in us. With the moment of crisis, we carry the feelings we already have to the present day.
It is a fact that the patterns of belief, thought and behavior that brought us to the present will not carry us to the future in a peaceful and happy way. For this reason, the need to develop more aware and more conscious new beliefs, thoughts and behavior patterns is inevitable.
So, what can we do to avoid damage and manage the process in times of crisis?
• To be able to stop ourselves by not acting reactively
At the moment of the event, the mind only focuses on that crisis. In this case, it is necessary to move the mind away from the crisiscreating event and bring it to the now, that is, the moment. For this, moving away from the environment or if you are standing, sitting on a place and focusing on your hand and fingers, stroking your hand will make you stop. This activity will bring your mind to the moment, which is wandering in the experiences of the past and the anxieties of the future at the time of crisis and preparing to react to the event with the information it receives from here.
• Balancing your breathing
In times of crisis, we start to take short and deep breaths because fear is felt. This irregularity in breathing makes you feel more anxious and unwell. Taking a deep breath, exhaling slowly over a longer period of time and repeating this at least 5 times will reduce the alarm state in the mind by regulating the breath.
• Exercising your 5 senses consciously
In times of crisis, many emotions can be triggered at the same time. With these feelings, the reactions cannot be controlled because the event cannot be judged correctly. If we can’t slow down and stop at this point, we will react with fear or anger. In order to stop our reactivity, slowing down the stimuli in the mind and body, looking at the objects and colors around you and counting them, giving your focus to the smell in the environment, the taste in the mouth, and the sounds in the ear will regulate your emotions. When you calm down at the end of the day, you can ensure emotional and behavioral awareness by asking yourself these questions objectively.
• What have I experienced now? What happened?
• What did I feel then? What was my emotion?
• What kind of reaction did I want to give? And was this reaction compatible with the event?
• Accepting the feelings we experienced
Although we define emotions as good and bad, it should not be forgotten that the main purpose of every emotion we experience is to keep us alive. Without describing the emotions as negative or bad, it is enough just to be aware that you feel uncomfortable when emotions such as fear, anger, sadness and anxiety come. Allowing yourself to experience emotions afterwards will allow you to get rid of learned thought patterns that reject your emotions, such as “it’s wrong to feel this, I shouldn’t be angry about this situation”.
• Not to make sudden decisions with the emotionality of the event
It is important to stop the mind’s desire to respond and intervene immediately by returning to the mind after reducing the bodily responses to a certain extent. If there is no vital situation in the incident, it would be useful to delay our decision or reaction a little. The delay time can be according to your needs. It varies depending on the specific subject. The decision we make after reflection will be the best decision for everyone.
• Doing activities that will create positive emotions
We now know that in a crisis, the mind always acts reactively by focusing on the negative. The negative emotions felt at that moment seem like they will last for a very long time. To get rid of this feeling, activities that will create a positive feeling such as walking for half an hour and dealing with plants will help you relax.
• Not to neglect the needs of the body and mind
Some crises can take a long time. In these situations, the mind and body are always on alert and cannot meet basic human needs such as sleep, rest and nutrition. This situation has a negative effect on making the right decision and managing moments of stress. At such times, it is very critical not to disturb your sleeping and eating patterns, even if you do not want to.
• Being able to share emotions
Talking with friends who have an objective and positive point of view, being open to getting support from a professional on these issues will help you to look at the moments of crisis from a different perspective.
• Distracting the mind from negative scenarios
In times of crisis, we have thought patterns that magnify stress and anxiety. Thoughts such as “What if this happens or if this happens” appear in the mind and make us think of the worst. Epictetus says, “Happiness is based on three things: your will, your ideas about the events you encounter, and the way you handle them.” At this point, you can ask yourself the following questions to draw the mind into a logical field.
• What went through my mind? How much was fiction and how much was real?
• What do these thoughts/dreams/memories mean, what do they say about me?
• What could be the worst about this situation?
When you often remind yourself of these topics and start practicing, the positive impact of these behaviors on your life will be colossal.