Stress, anxiety and fear are common emotions people experience during disasters—both natural disasters and personal crises. As a public safety telecommunicator, on duty you’re familiar with how to calm others in life-and-death situations, but what about you personally? How do you stay calm? Here is a list of techniques to help you stay calm when dealing with the unexpected.

1. Think straight: When a disaster strikes, it seems that everything happens all at once. You may not be able to think clearly. If this happens, take a deep breath and a short break to get your mind off the problem. If danger isn’t imminent, a person could listen to music, read or do an activity to gain a fresh perspective on the situation. The purpose of this is to get an individual to think straight rather than focusing on their current fears.

2. Divide and conquer: When facing a project that is overwhelming, divide the task into a series of smaller steps and complete each small task one at a time. Completing these smaller tasks will make the stress more manageable and increase your chances of success. Remember, take things one at a time. If there are multiple tasks, delegate the other tasks to others.

3. Challenge your negative thinking with positive statements: When engaging thoughts that make you fearful or anxious, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain your objectivity and common sense. If it helps, carry a small notebook in your pocket that contains positive statements. When you get anxious, take out the notebook and read a few lines to feel better.

4. Communicate: Effective communication is important during emergencies and other stressful situations. Develop some practice trials to ensure you can successfully communicate with others and your family and agency before a situation develops. Don’t wait until something happens. Effective communication can help reduce anxieties and stress.

5. Don’t assume: Remember, no one can predict the future. Even if the thing you fear happens, there will be circumstances and factors you can’t predict that can be used to your advantage. Most importantly, don’t assume anything. Focus on the situation reality, and don’t let your fears get the best of you.

6. Don’t factor worries into your thinking: It may seem difficult to remain calm, but worrying won’t solve your current problems. In a life-or-death emergency, make sure you get help and follow safety and disaster guidelines from your agency and various resources. Getting the facts can be the difference between life and death.

7. One day at a time: In dealing with your fears, learn to take it one day at a time. Although the consequences of a particular fear may seem real, factors that can’t be anticipated will affect the results of any situation. Get all of the facts of your situation and use them to your advantage. The more control you have over your stresses and fears, the better off you’ll be.

Remember to take advantage of the help that’s available. If possible, talk to a professional who can help you manage your fears and anxieties. They’ll be able to provide you with additional advice and insights on how to deal with your anxieties and fears. By talking to a professional, a person is also helping themselves because they’ll become better able to deal with situations in the future.

About the Author
Stan Popovich is the author of A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods. For additional information, visit www.managingfear.com, or contact him at spopovich@managingfear.com.