This idea is perfectly illustrated in the video from TED talks «Kelly McGonigal: How to make stress your friend». Information presented in this video will dramatically alternate the methods used by crisis counselors and psychologists due to the fact that it can be considered as a great breakthrough in functionality of a human body. In short, Kelly McGonigal conveys the message that it does not matter what influences people’s minds and bodies but in what way they react to these irritants (McGonigal, 2016). Before this study, crisis counselors advised their clients to avoid stresses in any form, but considering modern lifestyle it seems to be practically impossible and that is why this new method advises to face the challenge. It turned out that a person can experience a lot of stress situations, but they do not harm his/her organism as far as this stress is considered a challenge to cope with. Moreover, the way body responses to a challenge is physiological, which influences the physical state of a person. In the face of danger several resources are activated by the organism in order to protect people and command them run away or fight.
Contrary to stress, which can be as a result of both positive and negative emotions, crisis is caused by a dangerous situation, which can adversely affect a person or a community. Usually, crisis occurs all of a sudden, triggered by political, social, economic, cultural or even religious negative events. The main problem of crisis is its abruptness - people are not ready for it, they have no time to prepare themselves. Some types of crisis are as follows: crises related to loss, post-traumatic stress disorder crises (PTSD), developmental crises, substance abuse crises, and trauma crises (Kanel, 2003). One must admit that few people can cope with stresses and crises without help and that is why they resort to crisis counselors. There is no point denying that a good crisis counselor should possess a range of characteristics and I hope that I have at least half of them. They should have self-awareness, be nonjudgmental, nonreactive, highly tolerated, and of course complete a special training. To my mind I have these qualities, as I had encountered plenty of cases of people with social, economic, and cultural problems, which required essential support and psychological assistance. Once, I helped a young man who lost his savings due to his work, and was economically and psychologically depressed.
References:
Kanel, K. (2003). A guide to crisis intervention. Pacific Grove, CA, USA: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co.
McGonigal, K. (2013). How to make stress your friend [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend.html
Lonigro, D. (2013). 5 things you might not know about crisis intervention. Retrieved from http://www.crisisprevention.com/Blogs/Prevention-in-Action/October-2013/5-Things-You-Might-Not-Know-About-Crisis-Intervent
