true, but it’s not necessarily a crisis. We have time to take care
of it properly. (Of course, if recent drug ingestion appears to
present the possibility of death, severe illness, or brain damage
if medical support is not given immediately, that is a crisis.)
We may even want to consider doing nothing about the crisis.
Granted, in many cases, this is not a good solution, but we
should still consider the option. Just doing something is not the
answer; doing the right thing is.
After writing all the options down — from the most active
response to the least — we should talk them over with someone
we respect. A clear perspective is key.Third, to help us cope, we must always ask ourselves what the worst
possible outcome of the crisis would be. Many times we find we are
able to deal with that.
Sometimes the worst possibly outcome is death, and even
that must be faced by all people sometime. Naturally, it feels
good to put it off a bit. But if a person dies suddenly, without
warning, it is no crisis for that person. And even the loved ones
who are left have a choice of considering the situation either a
“crisis” that needs to be taken care of immediately or a “terrible
and painful happening” that needs to be thought (and felt)
through.
Finally, we always need to keep the monkey on the back of the
person responsible for the problem. Sometimes that is difficult. For
instance, if our child is using drugs, that can be a problem for
parents if the family car is crashed or money is stolen from the
family to pay for the habit. Nevertheless, even in such circumstances
some parents act as if the whole thing is their problem, whereas
others still manage to look at their child and communicate, “Honey,
you have a big problem” and then go on to do whatever they need to
do to take care of themselves.
In summary, when a crisis erupts, we should take a moment,