Stress is an unavoidable aspect of human life. Many stresses are
seemingly universal, including finances, education, and employment. Despite
these stresses being common among most individuals, everyone handles them
differently.
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Unfortunately,
if these stressors cannot be dealt with, they can accumulate and result in a
crisis. Understanding what a crisis is and how it progresses can help us
improve many aspects of our lives and overall well-being.
So what is a
crisis?
In terms of
mental health, a crisis is the level of severity in which an individual reacts
to a situation. Two people can experience the same event; one may not be
affected at all, while the other is deeply affected.
One of the best
definitions of a crisis related to mental health is offered by James and Gilliland
in their 2001 fourth edition publishing of Crisis Intervention Strategies. They
stated that a crisis is “a perception or experience of an event or situation as
an intolerable difficulty that exceeds the person’s current resources and
coping mechanisms.”
In essence, a
crisis is not the event itself but how a person reacting to the events is
incapable of coping with the situation. This means that one person may
experience an objectively more severe or traumatic event and be subjectively
fine, while another person may experience a milder event and be subjectively
devastated by it.
Types of crises
Crises can manifest in a variety of forms and range in severity. There
is no cookie-cutter number on the different types of crises. However, three
types are the most prevalent. It could be argued that various crises can be a
subtype of these three forms and can often overlap.
The first type
of crisis is a developmental crisis. A developmental crisis occurs due to the
growth and changes experienced during periods of life. It is transitional in
nature, and the individual is forced to question their social environment and
sense of self, which can cause struggles in coping.
Crisis is “a perception or experience of an event or situation as an intolerable difficulty that exceeds the person’s current resources and coping mechanisms.”
One of the most
common examples of a developmental crisis is the period near or after graduating
from high school. The individual may experience great distress because up until
that point, their entire life has been that of a student.
After
graduating, they have to consider their future and what they will do. The
stress from having to consider how they will integrate into society can be
extremely overwhelming. This form of crisis is very prevalent to the point
where it may even be a predictable part of the human life cycle. It has even
been outlined in Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development.
In Erikson’s
view, he notes that these internal conflicts are centered on whether or not an
individual can develop a specific
psychological quality such as purpose.
The second type
of crisis is an existential crisis. An existential crisis is similar to that of
a developmental crisis.
Again, it is an
inner conflict that questions the individual’s sense of purpose and role.
However, in developmental crises, the concern is primarily on the individual’s
role in society. In existential crises, the conflict is more spiritual and
relates more to the individual’s role in the universe.
One common
example of this is a midlife crisis occurring in a person’s 40s. This crisis
comes from the realization that the individual’s life has been almost half
spent, and they begin to feel that they have not done anything of importance
with their life.
The third type of
crisis is arguably the most common form of crisis, known as situational crisis.
Situational crises arise from sudden or unexpected
events or trauma, such as accidents or natural disasters. There is no internal
turmoil in this form of crisis that leads to conflict but instead extreme
external stressors that can make it seemingly impossible to cope.
Situational crises do not need to be extreme in
nature either. They can be seemingly mundane as losing a job or going through a
divorce. These events create such a
dramatic disruption in the individual’s
life that they can cause severe distress.
The body follows the mind, the mind follows the body
There is a strong link between
mental and physical distress. It is common for mental distress to manifest
physically and vice versa. In short, the body follows the mind, and the mind
follows the body.
Due to the cyclic nature of distress, lessening your
physical response to stress can help reduce mental distress. Physically during
periods of crisis, bodies can activate the fight or flight response, which can
cause increased
heart rate,
breathing, blood pressure, and sweat.
Managing or mitigating these physical manifestations
can cause mental distress to decrease significantly. One effective technique
for this is utilizing deep breathing exercises.
Deep breathing exercises exist in excess, but they
all share common principles. During high-stress situations, increased breathing
rate results in rapid, shallow breathing. This can cause hyperventilation,
which triggers the brain to stress even more, thus perpetuating the cycle.
Deep breathing works to deescalate the fight or
flight response by two mechanisms. The first is by actively reversing the
effects of hyperventilation by drawing in deep breaths, naturally causing your
heart rate and other physical manifestations to lessen. Second, by actively
focusing on breathing, the mind is distracted long enough to allow the body to
return to normal.
Once calm is regained, it is important to confront
feelings and thoughts. It may be tempting to ignore what caused the distress in
the first place, but not addressing the issue can cause the situation to occur
again.
A mindset change is the ultimate goal when dealing with a crisis.
This process is highly individualized and is
person-to-person dependent. Some prefer to internalize their struggles and work
through them independently, which is an adequate method of confronting feelings
and thoughts. But, it may also be beneficial to write these thoughts down to
help organize thoughts and have a reference to fall back on in case a crisis
occurs in the future.
Others may prefer to talk their issues out with
friends or a therapist. By discussing thoughts with others, it is easier to get
advice from like-minded individuals on how to cope. Additionally, listening to
others can help build perspective and empower individuals to confront their
issues with a new mindset.
A mindset change is the ultimate goal when dealing
with a crisis.
As different crises and hardships arise, the
individual will be able to build ways to cope. Regardless of the type of
crisis, the distress experienced comes from a sense of helplessness and lack of
control. So, coming to terms with the realization that we cannot control every
aspect of our lives is the mindset we need to achieve ultimately.
Instead of focusing on the things that are out of
our control, focus on what we can control.
As you work to improve those aspects of your life, you will
become more empowered and resilient.
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