When a crisis happens, whether to a friend, family member or complete stranger, the most important thing that anyone can do to help the situation is to remain calm. Additional steps depend on the situation, but generally will include calling 911, keeping others calm and administering basic first aid.
How to Remain Calm During a Crisis Situation
In a crisis situation, adrenaline will be high and there is usually a great potential for someone’s life to be in danger. Staying calm can sometimes make the difference between life and death.
To remain calm, a person in a crisis must stay in the moment. Do not think about tomorrow or even five minutes from now, stay with only what needs to be focused on at that very moment in time. A crisis is not the time to figure out what happened, but it is a time to figure out what needs to happen right now without delay.
Calling 911 in an Emergency
When an emergency occurs, it is vital that someone calls 911. Typically the best person to call for help is whoever is closest to a phone. If there is only one person available to help in an emergency situation, the call to 911 should happen first, before any first aid is given. The operator on the phone should be able to provide some basic guidance for what to do next.
Basic First Aid for Use During an Emergency
When a crisis occurs, knowing some basic first aid can be extremely helpful for bridging the gap in time between calling for help and help arriving. Here are some basic first aid tips:
- If someone is not breathing, use a finger to sweep his mouth clean and open his airway
- If someone is bleeding, pressing a clean cloth to the wound to help staunch the flow of blood will help
- If someone has just fallen and hit his head, keep the person still and quiet on a flat surface to prevent potential additional injury to the neck
Taking a basic first aid class and getting certified to give CPR is an excellent way to be prepared for an emergency situation. A CPR class will provide tools and specific information on how to safely and effectively perform potentially life-saving first aid during an emergency situation.
When faced with an emergency, those who are involved need to remember that the most important thing for them to do is to remain calm. Panicking is a good way to make a bad situation worse. Calling 911 and administering basic first aid will be helpful as well.
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