How to Remain Calm in an Emergency

"I’m sure that you’ve heard of the benefits of visualization. Picture yourself giving a great presentation, nailing the interview, or catching that wave and you’re probably more likely to actually do it. Besides, if you’re like me, you like to plan things and feel under control. Planning helps us feel safe.

But accidents and the unplanned happen, and any day any one of us can find ourselves in an emergency situation. Can we use visualization and planning to deal with the unknown and unexpected?

I think so, and with this in mind (thanks to the assistance of my neighborhood YMCA Zennie, Myoun, who can perch one-legged on a Bosu ball for hours), I’ve got some Buddhist wisdom that can help unforeseen and unpleasant situations.

We are constantly judging our experiences as either good or bad—and if we deem something to be “bad,” we want to get rid of it immediately. But in an emergency, we need to accept what has happened and recognize that judging it as “good” or “bad” does not matter. Research out of Carnegie Mellon University suggests that the act of mindfulness and especially the acknowledgment of pain, suffering, and stress can decrease stress hormone levels for up to four months and perhaps even change neural wiring.

Now, let's take the example of a trip to the ED. This may not be the ideal time to launch into your first mindfulness exercise, but if you already have some training or experience in the practice, it would be a perfect time to deploy it.

Take some deep breaths, really deep, and calm down. You are having a unique experience: your own safari. A safari is not just a chance to photograph large mammals, it is, literally, an adventure with an unknown outcome.

Going to the ED may not have been the journey you planned for, but like many other emergency situations, it presents unique opportunities for bringing together family and friends, channeling empathy for others who may be in a similar situation, and perhaps committing to healthy lifestyle choices for the future (like, for example, quitting smoking for good!) Perhaps there is even an opportunity to find a nugget of joy in the situation—like the fact that the ED offers oven-warmed blankets. Acknowledging this can help down-regulate the stress response going on in your brain.

When it comes to breathing, there are a number of cadence pattern options that can slow anxious breathing and, through vagal nerve feedback loops, provoke and maintain calm. Box breathing is simple and easy to demonstrate; we often use it in the ED. Draw a square on a whiteboard and assign four seconds to each side—four-second inhale, four-second hold, four-second exhale, four-second hold, repeat. Or, if you prefer, Dr. Andrew Weil endorses a 4-7-8 rhythm (four-second inhale, seven-second hold, eight-second exhale) while others, such as Wim Hof, suggest cyclic hyperventilation (longer inhales and shorter exhales). Some people like cyclic sighing (longer exhalations).

Back at home, find a breathing meditation that works for you and practice it for a few minutes a day—you’ll improve your daily relaxation and be ready to calm yourself down when challenges arise."

*Being able to remain calm in an emergency situation is super important because stress only adds to the situation. You want to be able to take a deep breath and collect yourself so that you can assess the situation and think through the next steps. Panic never got anyone anywhere good! These are some great breathing techniques to calm your whole body! There are other techniques like stretching, visualization, and talking through how you're feeling. Personally, I like to share how I'm feeling with others so that I don't feel alone, but everyone is different! How do you take care of yourself when you are in an emergency?*

#Panic #Emergency #Calm

Please find the full article at Psychology Today.

If you liked this article, you may like this one on negative thinking!