The Rock & Roll Shrink Ep. 86 Flirting with Disaster (Coping Under Crisis) Pt 1

FLIRTING WITH DISASTER – Coping Under Crisis. Emergencies. Some are sudden. Some are unexpected. Some are natural disasters. Some are crimes. Some are illnesses or deaths. Most are a discreet event which then ends, and processing and healing can start. Sometimes, the healing process lasts a long time, or even the rest of our lives. Some emergencies happen to individuals. Some to a community, or a nation. And once in a great while, as in the rare case of our current COVID-19 pandemic, they can happen to the entire world.

It is this last type of emergency stress that we want to discuss tonight. We have done several shows on managing anxiety, PTSD, stress, conflict, terror management theory, building resilience, and related topics. Managing a global situation such as what we have now, with not only brand-new factors full of uncertainty and changing targets but the added cruel stress of propaganda and political wars made of the situation both from within and country against country, can simply be too damned much for people to handle.

Tonight, we will discuss:

1. An Overview of Coping with Major Disasters and Emergencies

2. How We Learn Coping Skills & What They Are

Next show (Pt. 2 on April 15th) we will discuss:

3. How Poor or Absent Coping Skills Harm Us & Others

4. Navigating Emergency Choices Amidst Uncertainty & Attack

We'll start off the evening with some topic-relevant Classic Rock played by Dr. Mathis, followed by Classic Rock trivia in "The Rock & Roll Shrink Recalls," followed by our topic discussion.