What do you do when you are hit with a life-changing situation? Hopefully, this life-changing situation is a positive one, but what if it’s not? Does anyone know how to deal with traumatic events?

These types of events happen to many people all around the world, that is sadly how the world works. Everyone is as equally disposed to experiencing a traumatic event. They can happen anywhere at any time. 

They have been increasing steadily in frequency over the past few decades. We have more violent machinery such as cars, guns and even cell phones. There has also been political unrest and societal norms are slowly losing their value. All these together create a large decline in safety. 

But some people may be sheltered or just lucky enough not to have experienced a traumatic event yet. And being protected and trauma-less is ideal, no one should have to deal with traumatic events in life. But this may leave us naive to what the world is, or how to react to a traumatic event. 

A few weeks ago I was involved in a car crash in my neighborhood. It was a split-second collision, I did not understand what was happening until I was being shaken around inside my car. My glasses flew off of my face completely, my head hit the side window, roof and back windshield. 

After the car reached a stop my senses were overwhelmed. I heard the whining of the airbags, my little sister’s crying, saw my father break my door open, my mother crawl out of her window and smelled the strong scent of burnt rubber and oil, all at the same time. I had all of 30 seconds to process this before I had to digest it all and call 911 and try and understand what actually happened. 

It was raining, my glasses were covered in water droplets, people were yelling at me and the 911 operator was asking too many questions. I had my first crying breakdown but I knew I couldn’t break down because my family needed me. So, I continued to help my family speak with the emergency personnel and simultaneously fight off the parents of the person who hit my car. 

I then had my second breakdown speaking to a firefighter putting my neck brace on, and my third when being strapped into the ambulance. There were about six fire trucks, two ambulances and a few police cars BLARING their sirens. All these details are to explain that I was not in any shape or way prepared to deal with the aftermath of a car crash. Much less what happened after the crash itself. 

After the crash, my family was left without a car, a large amount of ER debt and countless internal body injuries. I don’t think anyone is prepared to be T-boned by someone going 80 miles an hour. And again, no one should be prepared for this. 

The aftermath of a traumatic event like this is felt in ripples. First, it’s a sense of helplessness because you cannot physically move around to get groceries, medicine and many more daily life events. It is a very grounding experience, it makes you appreciate your normal day to day life. 

Going through this felt like I was being sucked up in a tornado, Dorothy style. I would get thrown into new situations and problems to solve weeks after the initial incident. I still am dealing with situations that stem from the crash and will be for the rest of my life. 

This experience, if you would call it that, has made me quickly learn to have patience with life. Sometimes when you feel like you are being swept up by the tornado you have to breathe and let the tornado do its thing. 

The way to battle chaotic times is to be the opposite of chaotic, be calm. Acting chaotic will only worsen the situation. It’s like fighting fire with fire. You have to control what you can, which is your thoughts, emotions and actions. This will minimize the strife caused by having to experience a chaotic situation. 

Sometimes life gets confusing and you can’t see where the issue started and if there is even an end to it. There is always an end to the problem. It may just be hidden from your current view, by a large tornado.