Maintaining Equilibrium in a Crisis

Kathy · #1 13-09-2007, 12:42 AM

Maintaining Equilibrium

Sometimes you may feel you are walking on eggshells when your sufferer is having a particularly difficult time. At that time you have to summon up all your energy so that you can maintain their trust while at the same time maintaining equilibrium at home. Here are some ideas towards that goal:

Be Friendly
Be Accepting
Be Encouraging
Make time to listen
Include them
Treat them with respect

Avoid the following:

Being patronizing
Being critical
Pushing them into situations they are not comfortable with
Being gloomy
Arguing with them, or with others while they are present
Giving them a lecture or talking too much
Getting yourself into difficult situations with them.

When a crisis occurs, there are some things you can do to reduce or avoid the potential for disaster. Here are a few pointers:

Remember that you cannot reason with someone in a highly agitated or angry state.
Remember that the person may be terrified by his/her own feelings of loss of control.
Do not express irritation or anger.
Don't shout.
Don't use sarcasm as a weapon.
Decrease distractions:turn off TV, Radio, dishwasher, etc.
Ask any casual visitors to leave - the fewer people the better.
Avoid direct continuous eye contact.
Avoid touching the person.
Sit down and ask the person to sit down also.