when tshtf, don't panic! (ever tried not to panic?)

The basic questions of this thread are:
How do you avoid panic in an emergency situation?
What can you do to urge yourself to calm down and think rationally?

Some seem to have the natural ability to stay calm under every situation, others (like myself) tend to jump up and down, panic and are not capable of thinking. Even if you have a plan, getting into a panic can set you back in a moment when you need to make crucial decisions.

So what's your "trick"?

I live within 15 km from a nuclear power plant.
30 min ago the sirens started going off, it's thuesday so it can't be the testing allarm (this is every 3rd thursday of the month). The sirens went off for about 15 min and then stopped.
There is nothing on the news or radio so I can only hope it was a minor incident and the allarm went off to warn the people working there.

When I heard that siren, within 2 seconds my heart started beating like hell, I broke out in sweat.... immediately closed all my windows and tried to call my husband at work (couldn't reach him). I thought about my kid at school.... and then, panic took over and I couldn't think straight anymore. I was still in pyjamas, 'should I get dressed asap? should I get out of here (no car!), should I wait it out?'... all questions that went through my mind rapidly.
Then it hit me: I live in the woods, there is no one that is going to drive through my street and tell me what to do, there are no authorities that will come warn me out here! I'm to far from the town.

So the allarm stopped and I keep checking the news sources.

But it's a hell of a lesson to learn: In case of emergency, my plan sucks and I basically don't know how to act, react or stay calm.

mahuana

I always stay calm.

Panic does not belong in my system.

The best thing to do is, think and focus on solutions. Only that must be in your mind.

Then the feeling of panic can not be amplified in your brain( your focus is on solutions), maybe it gets transformed in Adrenaline making your thought process even better.

If you are not able to master your thoughts, well then you have another problem I think

Originally posted by GypsK
The basic questions of this thread are:
How do you avoid panic in an emergency situation?
What can you do to urge yourself to calm down and think rationally?

Some seem to have the natural ability to stay calm under every situation, others (like myself) tend to jump up and down, panic and are not capable of thinking. Even if you have a plan, getting into a panic can set you back in a moment when you need to make crucial decisions.

So what's your "trick"?

Panic is not a bad thing. Panic is a built in alarm system.
How a person uses the panic is what is important.

Running in circles and imagining the worst ultimately achieves nothing other than worsening a situation.
Like any kind of energy, panic can be put to good use, it can also save your life.

Instead of freaking out, focus the extra energy on something. Make a plan, if you already have a plan, act on that plan.

If you are still unable to focus your panic, slap the S### out of yourself and try again.

I am sure some military orientate people can response better than I. but personally I think it a natural response for some people remain calm while others it is something to be learned..

On a very personal note I learned not to panic, it doesn't appear to take long as the learning curve is quite short when your faced with a dire situation. for my part I take deep breaths and then take stock of my situation before I respond.

Beyond surviving the instant...you move into planning in your mind what to do the next time something similar happens.. this is possibly a good test for you??

I still plan multiple ways out of any major cities I visit and occasionally I share those plans with my partner.. we both work away and generally agree some middle ground to meet up should anything nasty happen.. this week it is motorway service station 500 miles away.

Well....If I were alone, I would not fall into panic easily. But man, I have a four persons family to take care of ...... so panicking is unavoidable. Plus how many of you folks (veteran, hard@ss, thug and what not) would not panic when massive gunshot, siren, and shouting being heard.

reply to post by thoughtsfull


Yes it certainly was a good test for me. And one I'm almost grateful for.
I need to have a serious conversation with my husband and daughter and set up a better plan that everyone can stick to. I realized that, if something should happen and my kid is at school, she doesn't have guidelines either.
I also came to the conclusion that I don't have a clue where my carefully packed BOB is... haven't seen it since I moved and haven't thought about it anymore either.

so yes, grateful....
Nothing much seems to be going on here, at least the msm isn't reporting anything, it was scary for a while but I did learn a good lesson that will help me prepare better.

I dotn really panic in the situations Ive been in .. I just feel weird for a second like a power surge ( adrenaline Im sure) and move on. However, we did have a new nurse in the ER. We had been having a bad night and it got worse when we had a multiple vehicle accident.. we filled up quick with many very badly injured PTs... this nurse had an odd physical reaction that I dont think a person can really learn to curb. She sort of stumbled a little and then FROZE. Not in a funny way, but actually like a statue. It wore off sort of but she definitely wasnt capable of working to speed. When we all talked later she was really embarrassed and crying over it.. she didnt even know she would react that way. She said when they all started coming in at once she got hot all over, nauseous and then it was like a dream and she didnt even remember the statue thing. The girl who went over to see what was wrong and touched her said she was hard.. like muscles in her arm stiffened up.

Im not saying OP is like this at all.. op actually kept moving in what she felt was a panic situation, but there is no way to tell how a person will react until they are actually in a situation that triggers panic that way. Tough guys wash out all the time in certain mil programs and special ops.. and its not they are weak or whatever. These guys are hard core before they even get to those programs. Its the panic factor and whatever trigger they may happen to have.

IE in a program I was watching concerning pilots training, they shove these guys in a cockpit rigged to a free fall into something like a 20 foot deep pool. Theyre flipped upside down as they are strapped in and etc then thrown in water.. cockpit fills and they are very disoriented and didnt have the time to take a big gulp of air.. simulating a crash obviously. There are divers down by the cockpit to rescue them if they panic... MOST panicked. I dont mean the helicopter dunker.. that didnt look so bad.. this was just a freefall... into water and upside down. Id panic over that one more than likely!

Originally posted by Hessdalen
mahuana

lol
you want me to sleep during an emergency?

Originally posted by TribeOfManyColours
I always stay calm.

Panic does not belong in my system.

If you are not able to master your thoughts, well then you have another problem I think

edit on 31-5-2011 by TribeOfManyColours because: (no reason given)

I have to ask,
have you ever been in a serious emergency situation to test your statement? Just wondering

yes, staying in control of your thoughts is important, not let chaos in your head take over.

reply to post by CN1018


"Instead of freaking out, focus the extra energy on something. Make a plan, if you already have a plan, act on that plan.

If you are still unable to focus your panic, slap the S### out of yourself and try again.



sounds like a good idea
but how do you stop yourself from freaking out?

reply to post by GypsK


Thankyou for bringing this issue up my friend, as I feel it is a very importent topic.
A strategy like thinking: "don´t panic.... don´t paNIC... DON`T PANIC!!!! PANIC!!!!!!!"
(sorry for the caps) could surely give the opposite effect.

At times where I have been in chaotic situations (not that many) I always seem to be calm.
For me it is something to do with accepting those emotions that naturally arises, but anyway go beyond them.
Like having the emotions, rather than becoming them.
This is an ability for us all to learn.
Some text material could be found here: LINK
It is really simple, takes some practice though.

Brain research has shown that the best way to change unwanted habitual patterns, is if you train (=decode yourself) often and in small doses.
That way you can rearrange the way your braincells talk with eachothers.
New habits are trule reachable, take e.g. brushing your teeth...
You have done that often and it doesn´t take that much time, your mom (or dad) have been consitent in insisting on you to do it.
The result today, if you don´t brush them you miss it.
Same way about reaction-patterns... you can really change them, with small doses in high frequencies.
Only you have be your own mom or dad
Get some friends or family involved too, make them ask how it is going changing those unwanted patterns, that will remind you.

All best wishes

Originally posted by GypsK

Originally posted by TribeOfManyColours
I always stay calm.

Panic does not belong in my system.

If you are not able to master your thoughts, well then you have another problem I think

edit on 31-5-2011 by TribeOfManyColours because: (no reason given)

I have to ask,
have you ever been in a serious emergency situation to test your statement? Just wondering

yes, staying in control of your thoughts is important, not let chaos in your head take over.

Abuse, , grew up in violence, seen bodies (cracked skulls) Set myself on fire(burning newspapers)
4 serious motor accidents, 3car accidents. My son in hospital. stuff like that

reply to post by GypsK


your beyond the instant..

I have to admit that I keep my planning simple to avoid confusion and panic... my kids know where we plan to meet..

In my part of England the roads are really rubbish and very very small so would get clogged in no time when everyone else goes into panic mode so we have a few second hand (second user) mountain bikes with BOPs ready (Bug Out Panniers )

Having experienced how large cities close down and jam up when something happens I really would not like to be caught in traffic..

sounds like a good idea
but how do you stop yourself from freaking out?


Get yourself some trauma's. You wont freak out anymore

Would you freak out in this situation?

reply to post by TribeOfManyColours


It's not that I 'freak out' in these situations as in : starting to scream etc....

my reaction is hard to explain,
when I'm in the car and something happens before or next to me, or like last month when another car drove us off the road, it's like I get 'shocked' and go into overdrive. My heart beats real fast and I feel an intense pain in my vains going through my entire body within a second (adrenaline???), it really burns bad. The panic comes after that mostly acompanied with hyperventilating, which will stop me from thinking straight. My husband told me many times that I tend to overreact.

but anyway, I would never set food in a race car. Would I panic being in the car in your vid? Yes, definately! I probably die from panic as well, lol

heh, now I make myself sound like a total wuz

reply to post by GypsK


Well, I know everyone has different responses due to different life experiences, so I can only speak for myself.

When I have been in situations where it's natural to panic, the first thing I do is accept the fact that I am feeling panic. Before any action, in that fraction of a second when you feel it really HIT you, the trick is recognizing the panic and accepting it, if you do not face it you cannot move forward productively.

Once you understand that you're feeling panic, you can separate it from your thoughts.
The fear of panic is more dangerous than the actual panic itself. Let the feeling remain in the background, focus on your thoughts, and trust yourself and your instincts.

Also, when I said slap yourself, I meant it. If you just can't get it together, that brief shock may just be enough to do the trick.

I hope that's at least somewhat helpful.

reply to post by thoughtsfull


yes it might be better to keep the planning as simple as possible.

This summer we are going on a primitive camping trip. Normally I'm the girl that needs to have all the comfort when going on vacation, but this year we desided to make it a primitive trip and see how far we can get without much basic comfort and little planning ahead. I felt for a long time this is something we needed to do, only to explore our own limits. (daughter hates the whole idea). It won't be extreme but I'm sure we can learn from it.
I actually wanted to go on a real extreme survival trip, in group and with a guide... but hubby isn't up for that. To bad, I think a person can really discover himself all over again and come to terms with his fears.

reply to post by GypsK


You are no wuz.

Yes you get these feelings running in your body.
Still you are in controll of what you do.

In the example from you being in traffic and something happens in front ore next to you.
If something happens, then yes you get that 'adreneline' rush. But you are driving, and 1milisecond can be life saving.
If you first deal with your feelings, than your response time is slower. I get that kick to, but that puts me in a place of action, calm and focus.

I would choose until the last second to keep steering and braking out of trouble. And if you are going to get an collision. Place your car in such a way that you think that might be the way of least pain. (If you choose to panic, than you become an passenger of your own car)

(Put yourself in some situations)

Go rock-climbing, go karting, moutinbiking etc. Desensitise yourself, and master that feeling by giving it the right attention conserving your thought proces that comes with it