The first thing to do in any crisis is pause long enough to assess what’s actually happening. Whether you’re facing a mental health emergency, a natural disaster, a medical scare, or a sudden financial collapse, the instinct to panic is natural, but the sequence of actions you take in the first minutes and hours shapes everything that follows. The core principle is the same across every type of crisis: observe, orient yourself, decide on one action, then do it. Repeating that cycle keeps you moving forward instead of freezing.
Calm Your Body First
In any crisis, your body floods with stress hormones that narrow your thinking and speed up your heart rate. Before you can make good decisions, you need to interrupt that cycle. Start with slow, deep breaths: inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale for four. This isn’t fluff. It physically slows your heart rate and restores access to the rational part of your brain.
If panic or anxiety is overwhelming you, try a sensory grounding technique. Notice five things you can see around you. Then four things you can physically touch, like the fabric of your shirt or the ground under your feet. Listen for three sounds outside your body. Identify two things you can smell (walk to a bathroom and smell soap if you need to). Finally, notice one thing you can taste. This exercise pulls your attention out of spiraling thoughts and anchors it in the present moment, which is where you need to be to act effectively.
If Someone Is in Physical Danger
When a crisis involves immediate physical danger, call emergency services. In the United States, dial 911. In the United Kingdom, call 999 or 112. In Australia, dial 000 (or 112 from a cell phone). Across most of Europe, 112 connects you to emergency services.
Go to an emergency room for difficulty breathing, chest pain or pressure lasting two minutes or more, sudden dizziness or loss of balance, confusion, changes in vision or speech, head or spine injuries, choking, poisoning, serious burns, or near drowning. For children, a fever in any infant under 3 months old is always an emergency room situation, along with severe headache or vomiting after a head injury, blue or purple skin or lips, and sudden behavior changes.
Urgent care is appropriate for less severe problems: low-grade fevers, ear infections, minor cuts, sprains, colds, and mild rashes. If you’re genuinely unsure whether something is life-threatening, treat it as though it is.
If You’re in a Mental Health Crisis
A mental health crisis might look like overwhelming panic, a sense of total hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, or a feeling that you’ve completely lost control. You can call, text, or chat 988 in the United States for free, 24/7, judgment-free support. The service covers mental health emergencies, substance use crises, and emotional distress. It’s available in Spanish and accessible for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.
If you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts, a safety plan can help you move through the crisis step by step. It works like a ladder: you start with the simplest interventions and escalate only if needed.
- Recognize your warning signs. What does the beginning of a crisis feel like for you? It might be a specific thought pattern, a physical sensation, or a sudden mood shift. Knowing the early signals lets you activate the plan sooner.
- Try internal coping strategies. These are things you can do alone to ride out the intensity: going for a walk, listening to music, taking a shower, doing breathing exercises, writing in a journal. Pick activities you can realistically do in the moment.
- Reach out to someone who can distract you. This isn’t about disclosing what you’re going through. It’s about being around people or in environments that pull your mind in a different direction. A friend who makes you laugh, a coffee shop where you feel comfortable, a family member you can call about something mundane.
- Tell someone you trust what’s happening. If distraction isn’t enough, contact a family member or close friend who knows about your struggles and can offer direct support.
- Contact a professional. Call 988, reach your therapist’s emergency line, or go to your nearest crisis center. Mobile crisis teams in many areas can come to you and help de-escalate the situation on-site.
- Make your environment safer. Remove or secure access to anything you might use to hurt yourself. This step can happen at any point, and it’s one of the most effective things you can do.
If You’re Facing a Natural Disaster
During a natural disaster or environmental emergency, your phone is your most critical tool. Make sure you have alternative charging methods, like a portable battery pack or a car charger, in case of power outages. Wireless emergency alerts from local officials will push life-saving information directly to your phone.
Have a family communication plan in place before disaster strikes. Everyone in your household should know who to call, where to meet, and what to do if you can’t reach each other. Keep an emergency kit stocked with water, food, medications, important documents, and cash. If you encounter a flooded road, turn around. Drowning in floodwater is one of the most common and preventable disaster deaths. The FEMA App provides real-time weather alerts and preparedness strategies and is worth downloading before you ever need it.
If You’re in a Financial Crisis
A sudden job loss, unexpected medical bill, or major debt can feel just as destabilizing as a physical emergency. The key is to act before things compound. Start by writing out your new financial reality: what’s coming in each month and what’s going out. A simple spreadsheet comparing income to expenses will reveal where you stand and where you can cut.
Contact your creditors before you miss a payment. This single step can prevent collection calls, protect your credit, and open up options like reduced payments or temporary forbearance that disappear once you’ve defaulted. If you’re overwhelmed by multiple debts, a nonprofit credit counselor through the National Foundation for Credit Counseling can help you negotiate with creditors (be cautious of agencies that charge high fees).
Prioritize your bills ruthlessly. Housing comes first: missing a mortgage or rent payment can cost you your home. Then utilities, food, transportation, and insurance. Credit card companies will be loud and aggressive if you miss a payment, but a credit card bill is almost never more urgent than keeping a roof over your head. If you owe taxes you can’t pay, contact the IRS directly. They have payment plan options, and reaching out early prevents penalties from snowballing. Consider consulting an attorney if a creditor has filed a legal judgment against you for wage garnishment or repossession.
How to Make Decisions Under Pressure
Crisis decision-making follows a simple loop used in emergency training: observe, orient, decide, act. First, take in what’s actually happening around you, not what you fear might happen. Second, position yourself to respond, both physically and mentally. Where are you? What resources do you have? Third, pick one course of action. It doesn’t need to be perfect. In a crisis, a good decision made quickly almost always beats a perfect decision made too late. Fourth, do it. Then loop back: observe the new situation, orient again, and adjust.
The most common mistake people make in a crisis is freezing because they’re trying to process the entire situation at once. You don’t need to solve everything. You need to solve the next five minutes. Then the five minutes after that. Breaking a crisis into small, sequential decisions is what gets people through.