Putting Together A Crisis Plan

If you are someone who has panic attacks or experiences suicidal feelings, it is important to have a crisis plan in place. A crisis plan can help keep you safe during a time of high stress, decrease your distress, and possibly help you avoid having to go to the hospital. A crisis plan can be developed by yourself, with friends and family, with a case manager, or with a therapist. They involve items, lists, and checklists which will help you get through a hard time which could usually result in you harming yourself or having to be hospitalized.

The first thing that you may want to have in your crisis plan is a check list. This checklist can be a list of things to do when you are feeling very upset. Make it very specific because when you are upset you will not be thinking clearly and even simple things could be very hard. My checklist asks things such as: Have you taken your meds today? Have you recently taken any new meds? Do you need to take rescue meds? Do you need to call a friend? Do you need to call your doctor? These questions give me ideas of things I can do when I am feeling very out of control. In the past, I’d feel out of control and just want to go to the hospital – this list gives me other options.

The second thing you might want in your crisis plan is a self soothing kit. This kit can be some kind of box with favorite items in it that calm you down. It can have things like coloring pages, stress balls, a list of things to do, etc. The point is to have things to bring down your arousal level and get you back to a calm state. You also might want to have friends write you short notes of encouragement to keep in this box as well.

One final good thing to keep with your crisis plan is a list of people and friends to call and talk to when you’re having a rough time. Make sure these people know they are part of your crisis plan and are okay with it first. Keep this list with your plan and keep both in an easy to find location. When you’re having a rough time – you will thank yourself for taking the time to plan ahead.