How to stay calm in emergency situations? Use TPC method

There’s a saying that no calm sea made a skilled sailor. All of us, sooner or later, must become skilled sailors in life. The blows of fate confront us with difficult situations, put us on the ropes, and force us to withstand the pressure. In those moments, having a good toolbox for life can make the difference between emerging stronger from the experience or succumbing to problems and letting themselves be crushed by their weight.

The TPC (Threat, Positivity, and Control) method is a form of self-talk that will help you deal with emergency situations without losing your cool. This method of staying calm can be used as a kind of “emergency remedy.”

How to stay calm in the midst of the storm?

1.  Exposed threats

Something is wrong. You’re worried, and the same thoughts start repeating in your mind over and over again. “What if X happens? What if Y happens? What if…? What if…? What if…? ”

This kind of ruminative thinking becomes a spiral of negativity that traps you. If you fall into its grip, things will quickly degenerate. In reality, the possibilities open to you are almost endless, so you could spend days, weeks, or even months ruminating over 10,000 different possibilities.

That will block you and add completely unnecessary tension. An alternative approach is to conduct an objective threat assessment. Ask yourself: “What problem am I really facing? “

This isn’t an idle question, as we often struggle to get out of situations because we’re unable to accurately determine the problem and get lost in rumination. It’s also essential to uncover the real threats, not the worst-case scenarios you imagine in your mind that are quite improbable, but rather those things that truly threaten your well-being and the solution to the problem.

You can make a list of these threats so you can “organize” your thinking, moving away from catastrophizing. This small exercise will give you a huge advantage: by focusing on rational aspects, you’ll avoid falling into emotional hijacking, which is one of the worst things that could happen to you in the midst of a problem.

2.  Positive Thinking focused on solutions

In difficult situations, it’s normal to see things as bleak. Ruminative thoughts lead you to the worst possible scenarios. It’s not even your fault, at least not 100%. Our brains have a tendency to focus on negative events purely for the sake of survival. In practice, remembering the events that hurt you allows you to avoid them next time.

However, the negativity bias can play tricks on you when trying to solve a problem or get out of a difficult situation. In these cases, it’s essential to resort to positive thinking. It’s not about developing toxic optimism, but rather focusing on the positive side of the situation.

No matter how negative the problem may seem, there’s always something positive. You just have to look for it. It will help you make a list, even if only mentally, of the resources and strengths you have at your disposal. By focusing on the positive aspects, you recharge your energy and often manage to see opportunities you didn’t see before simply because you were wearing glasses that were too dark.

Look back at a similar situation and think about how you got through it. You may never have experienced something like this before, but you can search your memory for similar situations and try to find solutions that worked. Other people’s experiences can also be valuable. Could what worked for them work for you?

This exercise will bring you two major benefits. First, it will allow you to benefit from your own experience or that of others, saving you valuable time and saving you unnecessary headaches. Second, it will give you a boost of self-confidence because if you’ve gotten through a similar situation in the past, you’ll be able to do it again.

3.  Step-by-step control

The secret to staying calm in the midst of any storm is feeling in control. To do this, it’s essential to take things one step at a time. Chances are the problem you’re worried about is huge and you can’t solve it all at once. At that point, you may fall victim to panic, thinking the “work” ahead is immense, that you can’t handle it, or that you’ll never finish.

The best way to deal with these problems is to take it one step at a time. Stay focused on what’s happening here and now because if you let your mind continually jump to the future, you risk ruining what you’re doing, generating tension and anxiety that prevent you from acting calmly.

Focus on the step you’re taking and make it the best it can be. You don’t need to solve everything at once; you just need to discover it one step at a time. The ancient Stoics, for example, dealt with feelings of anxiety and overwhelm by simply focusing on the process, not the results. So, when you feel like life is overwhelming you, simply focus on the next step. And then think about the next one.

At some point, you’ll likely ask yourself, “What if I don’t know what the next step is? How will I regain my peace of mind if I lose it? ” Stop, take a deep breath, and ask yourself if that thought is helpful. Chances are it isn’t, so put it out of your mind and focus on the here and now.