COMIC: Don't panic! 6 strategies to keep you calm in a crisis

1 month ago

How to enactment calm successful emergency situations

House fires, wide shootings, emergency aesculapian procedures and intelligence wellness crises. Emergencies tin hap astatine immoderate clip — and knowing really to flooded feelings of panic, accent and indecision tin beryllium a matter of life aliases death.

Ryan Fields-Spack, a seasoned first responder who has worked arsenic a paramedic, a occurrence skipper and a firefighter, and Dr. Italo Brown, an emergency expert and adjunct professor astatine Stanford University School of Medicine, stock real-world strategies they usage connected nan occupation to enactment cool and focused.

"We each cognize it's important to stay calm successful an emergency."

"Stress tin make america panic and impair our expertise to make lifesaving decisions."

"The bully news? Anyone tin study to support cool successful a crisis. Emergency consequence professionals stock strategies they usage connected nan job."

“Fields-Spack has worked arsenic a paramedic, a firefighter and a occurrence captain.”

“Freeze!” “Denial. Nope, nope, nope.” “WTF?!” “RUN!!!” “Throw stuff?????” “OK, clasp it, sister. Let’s deliberation for a second.”

A matter container astatine nan bottommost of nan Fram reads: “So alternatively of acting retired of panic, he says, extremity concisely and inquire yourself: “ What is nan champion measurement to grip this situation.”

“You’ll beryllium little frightened and much prepared,” Fields-Spack says.

Hyperfocus. At nan onset of a captious moment, tune into your activity and tune retired distractions truthful you tin hyperfocus connected nan task astatine hand, says emergency expert Dr. Italo Brown.”

Below are 2 bubbles illustrating different scenes. On nan left, successful a yellowish colour wash, is Dr. Italo Brown wearing scrubs and PPE arsenic he useful connected a diligent successful nan ER and engages successful hyperfocus. On nan correct is different segment successful a reddish colour wash, pinch nan female leaning complete a man who is passed retired connected nan level of a restaurant, listening for activity and emotion for a pulse, tuning retired distractions and engaging successful hyperfocus arsenic his woman calls for thief successful nan background. The female is tuning

“If you’re a praying person, you tin besides opportunity a prayer, he says. Both tin easiness nan unit of nan infinitesimal and supply encouragement to property through.”

“Studies show that moreover 5 minutes a time tin trim anxiety, modulate emotion, and amended equip america for high-stress uncertainties.”

“If you cognize what to do now, you’ve helped alteration nan arc of that person’s life,” says Brown.

Anika Orrock is simply a writer, illustrator, cartoonist and writer of The Incredible Women of nan All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

This communicative was edited by Malaka Gharib. The ocular editor is Beck Harlan. We'd emotion to perceive from you. Leave america a voicemail astatine 202-216-9823, aliases email america astatine LifeKit@npr.org.

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