Your crisis personality
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
Canada
January 11, 2007 12:20am CST
Everyone handles a crisis or emergency situation differently... some people step up and immediately take charge while others completely fall apart. What are you like when the going gets rough? Does your personality change completely from what you are normally like or are you consistent, regardless of the situation? Is your personality during an emergency as much of a coping mechanism for you as a helping mechanism for others?
1 person likes this
3 responses
@SageMother (2277)
• United States
11 Jan 07
In an emergency I usually take charge, only after others have treid and not been effective. I prefer to ease in and just start doing things, askingother to help me, as opposed to barking orders.
But, if there is alot of noise, if people are screaming, I will raise my voice to tell them to be quiet. It is impossible to think while everyone is being loud, and it scares the daylights out of anyone who might be injured.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
11 Jan 07
So true, SageMother! Someone has to be the calming force in any emergency because all the screaming, panic and general melee accomplishes nothing.
@Ciniful (1587)
• Canada
11 Jan 07
It really depends on the situation. I've had situations where I've frozen up in shock, and others where instincts took over and I took charge.
For example, with my own children. When my oldest son fell and hurt himself quite badly and came in bleeding from his mouth, I froze. I couldn't do anything short of panic, while my husband took over and handled the situation. However, when my youngest son fell off the couch and hit his mouth on the edge of the coffee table, my husband wasn't home. The situation was much worse, he knocked out a few teeth, chipped a few more and there was an unbelievable amount of blood. Yet I jumped into action and took care of him, disregarding the blood. I assume instinct took over because my husband wasn't home and I had no choice. My oldest son however panicked a little and dialed 119 instead of 911, lol.
My best friend was staying with us a few years ago with her two young kids, the youngest was only a month and a half old. There was an incident where she was put to sleep on a chair, and her face got lodged into the cushions. When we found her she was blue and not breathing. Her mother fell to pieces and was in a panic, while my instincts kicked in and I gave her CPR. By the time the ambulance got there, she was giggling and breathing fine. I however don't remember much of it really .. it really was just pure instincts.
So it really does depend on the situation involved.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
11 Jan 07
Excellent points, Ciniful... and I do agree that it can be situational. I had the experience myself of my 4-week old daughter not breathing and turning blue in my mother's arms. Having taken infant/child CPR, I admit I finished the course with nagging doubts about my ability to perform the necessary measures on a little one, especially my own. Yet, when it came down to it, I grabbed her from my mom and instinctively did what I had learned.
@123456_ (1052)
• Philippines
11 Jan 07
when i am under crisis, i tend to get crazy hahaha! nah seriously, i am the type of person who has the ability to manage stress properly. im not bragging anything maybe i can still handle things because my problems are really nothing compared to what others is experiencing. whenever i am under crisis i just smoke and work things out. if all else fails, i tend to go to a quiet room and pray. its God's turn to make things okay. and it really works all the way
