Dealing with difficult emotions, and even being in crisis, is par for the course for many survivors after trauma.
This ‘Emergency Box’ poster is a starting point for discussion and planning – when I hit crisis, what things might be helpful to me?
What could I reach for, like a physical first aid kit, to stem the bleeding?
What are the emotional equivalents of bandages and slings?
This is a free downloadable PDF.
Page 1 is a full-colour poster.
Page 2 is a low-ink, print-friendly version.
The only good time to find out that your first aid kit is empty is when you’re well, and you have time to restock it. The worst time is when you’re bleeding from an artery. Similarly, we need to plan ahead of time for how we’re going to manage a mental health crisis, and have strategies in place. Because crises WILL come – how we handle them depends not on some innate character capability, but very often merely on planning. And that’s what an ‘Emergency Box’ is all about.
This poster, taken from our Trauma Survivors’ Resource Guide, is a starting point for discussion and planning – when I hit crisis, what things might be helpful to me? What could I reach for, like a physical first aid kit, to stem the bleeding? What are the emotional equivalents of bandages and slings?
I know from experience as well as from neuroscience that when I’m in a crisis, I lose the ability to think, to use my front brain. I can’t at that moment figure out what might help me. By gathering together items or objects – or even lists of activities – into an emergency box ahead of time, I don’t need to think or figure out solutions. I can just reach for my pre-prepared list of suggestions. Even the simple act of planning how I will care for my future self when I’m stressed and distressed is a step in the right direction of self-compassion and care.
When you’re in crisis, what do you need? What would help? What would bring some comfort or soothing? That’s what this poster is aimed to help you start to think about.