A crisis is characterized as difficult time or event that creates an upheaval that ultimately changes your life for better or worse. It can be anything from financial hardship to a sickness, death, disaster, interpersonal problems, and more. Crises cause stress in the entire family, and you never know when one may occur. After all, no one wants a crisis.
Crisis on your farm can be extra stressful, as it is not only your livelihood but also your home. If you are experiencing a crisis, or even looking ahead, here are three tips to get you started:
- Prevention is key. Families that create prevention plans are better able to handle a crisis when it occurs. Prevention plans examine possibilities of what may occur, such as a death or house fire, and establish the next several steps beforehand. For example, making sure your electrical wiring is up-to-date helps prevent fires.
- Crisis plans are also helpful in handling a crisis. It sets forth a way to handle a situation by listing out what steps need to be taken. For example, who needs to be contacted first, what needs to happen next, etc. Review the crisis plan at your family meetings, making sure everyone knows what needs to happen. By doing so, everyone will have a better chance of coming successfully through a crisis and handling it appropriately, despite the stress.
- If you are in the midst of a crisis, calm down. This is difficult, because crisis creates stress and sends humans into their fight, flight, or freeze reactions. Forcing your body to calm down helps override the emotional response and brings you to a place where you can handle a situation rationally. Deep breathing is a great technique for calming stress in the body, and you can use it wherever you are at…whatever you are doing.
No one wants to think about a crisis, because it’s negative and stressful. Still, being prepared and calm helps us to handle these situations when they occur. AgriLegacy is here to help!
