by Nikita Sabunaev

Created on: September 04, 2007

Staying calm can be very hard in some moments of our life. A time when it is hard to keep yourself under control is totally based on the person's character and past experience. However it is possible to stay calm in different situations and in the time of chaos.

First of all let's figure out what is chaos. Chaos it is when something that you see as critical is going on. For an individual with an average life style (e.x. accountant who works in the office, has a family, etc.) an avalanche while they are on a skiing trip in the mountains would be a scary, traumatic and chaotic experience. Now if we will consider a person who constantly works in mountains and involved in extreme activities of some sort it would be scary, but a lot less of a stressor. Why? It is that way because human adapts to a certain setting, atmosphere, circumstances and possibilities. Even so our example of (an accountant) doesn't expect for the office to catch fire, get flooded, ect., but we have to consider that such person is not psychologically prepared to extreme situations. If he/she wasn't, let's say, firefighter in the past.

From our childhood we know that the fire burns it kills people; storms can also cause severe damage, etc. When a child goes close to the heated object his/her parent creates an atmosphere of fear. That way we know that we should fear certain situations and objects. It is well know that fear is a stressor and can cause chaos.

Now let's get to the big question: how can we stay calm in the time of chaos? If we have instincts to react certain ways and not necessarily have enough past experience to become used to certain situations, what can we do? Yes, fires and tsunamis don't occur everyday. It is important to remember that panicking doesn't help; most often it can only disturbs us from making right decisions quickly. One way is to use a standard psychotherapeutical way: you take a little bit of time to make yourself calm down by deeply breathing in and out. It helps to relax a little and get you in order to act. Sometimes you don't have an ability to do so (e.x. in situation of fire, because breathing, especially deeply, may not be always possible). In such cases you should just take a bit of time to analyze the situation and your knowledge about it, your role in it (are you a victim or a person who could help?) and what are your abilities under such certain stances. It is easer to feel calm when you have more knowledge and bigger picture of things, not just a realization that, "Oh my God, it's a fire!" Uncertainty and a feeling loss of control is a huge part to a formation of fear and finally panic. The time that you take to calm down and think may save you even more time because you will be able to act with greater efficiency. When you act don't let yourself to get overwhelmed again. Stay concentrated on you tasks, actions and on analyzing of the situation.

If you are in a situation of chaos stay positive. Belief in good is a big factor to success. There are no most extreme situations, something always can be worth. If you want to do what's best for you, keep yourself calm and logical, anybody can, because we all strong in one way or another.

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