A crisis (plural: crises) may occur on a personal or societal level. It may be a traumatic or stressful change in a person's life, or an unstable and dangerous social situation, in political, social, economic, military affairs, or a large-scale environmental event, especially one involving an impending abrupt change. Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event. Life is a state that distinguishes Organisms from non-living objects such as non-life and dead organisms being manifested by growth through Metabolism Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Definition In the absence of agreement about its meaning the term "social" is used in many different senses referring among other things to attitudes An economy is the realized social system of production exchange distribution and consumption of goods and services of a country or other area A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking For other uses see Love Affair or Scandal An affair may refer to a form of nonmonogamy, to Infidelity or to Adultery. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or 'emergency event'.

Poverty-related crisis

Main article: Poverty. Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and See also Charitable organization

Poverty is a condition in which a person or community is deprived of, and or lacks the essentials for a minimum standard of well-being and life. The definition of charitable organization, and of charity varies according to the country and in some instances the region of the country in which the charitable organization operates These essentials may be material resources such as food, safe drinking water, and shelter, or they may be social resources such as access to information, education, health care, social status, political power,^[1] or the opportunity to develop meaningful connections with other people in society. Food is any substance usually composed primarily of Carbohydrates Fats water and/or Proteins that can be eaten or drunk by an Water of sufficient quality to serve as drinking water is termed potable water whether it is used for drinking or not Information access is an area of Informatics and Library science which concerns ensuring free and open access to Information. Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency Health care is the prevention treatment and management of illness and the preservation of mental health through the services offered by the medical, Nursing In Sociology or Anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in Society (one's Social position) Political power ( Imperium in Latin is a type of power held by a group in a Society which allows administration of some or all of ^[2] For the individual it is a personal crisis. When poverty afflicts large numbers of people it becomes a social crisis.

Poverty-related crises include:

Malnutrition is the lack of sufficient nutrients to maintain healthy bodily functions and is typically associated with poverty, especially extreme poverty in economically developing countries. Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and Extreme poverty is the most severe state of Poverty. Many cannot meet basic needs for Food, Water, Shelter, Sanitation, and Health Developing countries are countries that haven't reached Western-style standards of democratic government free market economy industrialization social programs and human rights guaranties It is a common cause of reduced intelligence in parts of the world affected by famine. Mental retardation is a generalized triarchic disorder characterized by subaverage cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors with onset before the age A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any Faunal species which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional Malnutrition, Starvation ^[3]

A famine is a social and economic crisis that is commonly accompanied by widespread malnutrition, starvation, epidemic and increased mortality. Malnutrition is a general term for a medical condition caused by an improper or insufficient diet. Starvation (also called inanition) is a severe reduction in Vitamin, Nutrient, and Energy intake and is the most extreme form of In Epidemiology, an epidemic (from Greek epi- upon + demos people is a classification of a disease that appears as new cases in a Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific

Malnutrition crisis intervention

Forms of malnutrition intervention and prevention on the social level include:

• In developed countries
  • Food bank
  • Soup kitchen

Unemployment and Underemployment

Main articles: Unemployment and Underemployment

Unemployment is the condition of willing workers lacking jobs or "gainful employment". A food bank is a non-profit organization which distributes non-perishable goods and perishable food items to non-profit agencies involved in local emergency food programs A soup kitchen or a bread line is a place where Food is offered to the Poor and Homeless for free or at a reasonably low Price Unemployment occurs when a person is available to work and currently seeking work but the person is without work. In Economics, the term underemployment has three different distinct meanings and applications

In the absence of a job when a person needs one, it can be difficult to meet financial obligations such as purchasing food to feed oneself and one's family, and paying one's bills; failure to make mortgage payments or to pay rent may lead to homelessness through foreclosure or eviction. Homelessness is the condition and social category of people who lack housing because they cannot afford or are otherwise unable to maintain regular safe and adequate shelter Foreclosure is the legal proceeding in which a mortgagee, or other Lienholder, usually a lender obtains a court ordered termination of a mortgagor Eviction is the removal of a Tenant from rental property by the Landlord. Being unemployed, and the financial difficulties and loss of health insurance benefits that come with it, may cause malnutrition and illness, and are major sources of mental stress and loss of self-esteem which may lead to depression, which may have a further negative impact on health. The term health insurance is generally used to describe a form of Insurance that pays for medical expenses In Psychology, self-esteem reflects a Person 's overall evaluation or appraisal of her or his own worth Major depressive disorder, also known as major depression, unipolar depression, unipolar disorder, clinical depression, or simply depression Health is a state of complete physical mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

Lacking a job often means lacking social contact with fellow employees, a purpose for many hours of the day, lack of self-esteem, mental stress and illness, and of course, the inability to pay bills and to purchase both necessities and luxuries. In Psychology, self-esteem reflects a Person 's overall evaluation or appraisal of her or his own worth The latter is especially serious for those with family obligations, debts, and/or medical costs, where the availability of health insurance is often linked to holding a job. The term health insurance is generally used to describe a form of Insurance that pays for medical expenses

Unemployment intervention

Main article: Aiding the unemployed

Forms of unemployment intervention and management include:

• Job hunting
• Temporary work
• Unemployment benefit

Economic crisis

Main articles: Economic crisis and Financial crisis

An economic crisis is a sharp transition to a recession. Unemployment occurs when a person is available to work and currently seeking work but the person is without work. Job hunting or job seeking is the act of looking for Employment, due to Unemployment or discontent with a current position Temporary work or temporary employment refers to a situation where the employee is expected to leave the employer within a certain period of time Unemployment benefits are payments made by Governments to unemployed people The term financial crisis is applied broadly to a variety of situations in which some financial institutions or assets suddenly lose a large part of their value A recession is a contraction phase of the Business cycle. The U See for example 1994 economic crisis in Mexico, Argentine economic crisis (1999-2002), South American economic crisis of 2002, Economic crisis of Cameroon. The 1994 economic crisis in Mexico, widely known as the Mexican peso crisis, was triggered by the sudden Devaluation of the Mexican peso in the early The South American Economic Crisis is the economic disturbances which have developed in 2002 in the South American countries of Argentina, Brazil The Cameroonian economic crisis was a downturn in the Economy of Cameroon from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s

A financial crisis may be a banking crisis or currency crisis. The term financial crisis is applied broadly to a variety of situations in which some financial institutions or assets suddenly lose a large part of their value A bank run (also known as a run on the bank) occurs when a large number of Bank customers withdraw their deposits because they believe the bank is or might A currency crisis, which is also called a balance-of-payments crisis, occurs when the value of a Currency changes quickly undermining its ability to serve as

Environmental crisis

Crises pertaining to the environment include:

Environmental disaster

Main article: Environmental disaster

An environmental disaster is a disaster that is due to human activity and should not be confused with natural disasters (see below). An environmental disaster is a Disaster that is due to human activity and should not be confused with Natural disasters In this case the impact of humans' alteration A disaster is the impact of a natural or human-made hazard that negatively affects society or environment. A natural disaster is the consequence of a Natural hazard (eg In this case, the impact of humans' alteration of the ecosystem has led to widespread and/or long-lasting consequences. An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants animals and micro-organisms( Biotic factors in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( It can include the deaths of animals (including humans) and plant systems, or severe disruption of human life, possibly requiring migration.

Natural disaster

Main article: Natural disaster

A natural disaster is the consequence of a natural hazard (e. A natural disaster is the consequence of a Natural hazard (eg A hazard is a situation which poses a level of threat to Life, Health, Property or environment. g. volcanic eruption, earthquake, landslide) which moves from potential in to an active phase, and as a result affects human activities. An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer A landslide is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement such as rock falls deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows which can occur Human vulnerability, exacerbated by the lack of planning or lack of appropriate emergency management, leads to financial, structural, and human losses. Emergency management (or disaster management) is the discipline of dealing with and avoiding risks The resulting loss depends on the capacity of the population to support or resist the disaster, their resilience. ^[4] This understanding is concentrated in the formulation: "disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability". For other uses of the word "Vulnerability" please refer to Vulnerability (computing You may also want to refer to Natural disaster. ^[5] A natural hazard will hence never result in a natural disaster in areas without vulnerability, e. g. strong earthquakes in uninhabited areas.

For lists of natural disasters, see the list of disasters or the list of deadliest natural disasters. For man-made disasters see List of wars and disasters by death toll A death toll is the number of dead as a result of War, Violence,

Endangered species

Main article: Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in number, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. An endangered species is usually a taxonomic species, but may be another evolutionary significant unit. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. An Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU (often lowercased where used without abbreviation as evolutionarily significant unit) is a population of Organisms that is The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has calculated the percentage of endangered species as 40 percent of all organisms based on the sample of species that have been evaluated through 2006. ^[6]

International crisis

Main articles: International crisis and Crisis management

For information about crises in the field of study in international relations, see crisis management and international crisis. An international crisis is a Crisis between nations There are many definitions of an international crisis Crisis management A crisis is a major unpredictable event that threatens to harm an organization and its stakeholders Crisis management A crisis is a major unpredictable event that threatens to harm an organization and its stakeholders An international crisis is a Crisis between nations There are many definitions of an international crisis In this context, a crisis can be loosely defined as a situation where there is a perception of threat, heightened anxiety, expectation of possible violence and the belief that any actions will have far-reaching consequences (Lebow, 7-10).

Human reaction to and understanding of crises

To be human is to experience crisis. Some will be caused by societal tragedies such as the September 11, 2001 attacks. Some will be caused by natural disaster such as earthquake, hurricane or some other large magnitude act of nature beyond our control. And some will be caused by more personal experiences such as illness, death, or another difficult experience that comes to knock on our door. Everyone will react differently to the same crisis. The emotional experience is as individual as the other characteristics of the person. Even more confusing to ourselves and to those around us is the changing nature of crisis response. Psychologically we are equipped to deal with various aspects of a crisis at different times and our reactions can run the gamut over time. Some of the appropriate reactions to a crisis are the following:

Fear -- It is very common to be afraid when things are happening to us that are completely outside of our normal experience. Our safety has been shattered and our future is unsure. This insecurity can rock our foundation and cause fear.

Stress -- We all know that there is good stress and bad stress. Good stress may come from a challenging project with a tight deadline at work or the case of the jitters that may accompany us down the aisle on our wedding day. But bad stress comes from traumatic events that make us feel unsafe. Bad stress can contribute to many emotional and physical problems. There are some who would say that stress creates all disharmony within our bodies and creates all illness as well. Whether we choose to believe that stress is that powerful for those of us who have experience it we can say it can be very unpleasant.

Guilt, Shock, and Disbelief -- We may be absolutely floored by some particularly bad news. It may take some time to process the actual meaning of some crisis situations and their long term affects. Imaging finding out that your spouse has been having an affair. In most cases we will be shocked. We may not want to accept the facts and choose to disbelieve for some period of time. Guilt comes into play when we blame ourselves as the cause of the crisis event. We also feel guilty that we are not experiencing the crisis personally but supporting someone who is close to us through their crisis. We are guilty that a friend's spouse has cancer but our spouse if fine. We are guilty that our neighbor's child is addicted to crack but our child is fine.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder -- This is a very common term in today's world of crisis management. Many situations that we experience today bring back painful memories from past events in our lives. Or, our emotional and physical state was solid while we were dealing with a crisis but once that situation improved our emotional and physical state collapsed. It often takes some time to connect with the actual damage that a crisis situation can do to use.

Anger -- Crisis bring out anger in people because we need to express our range and upset over what is happening. Anger comes in many shapes and form. As an emotion, anger is a good thing, when expressed appropriately. However, when we are in the midst of a crisis our anger often comes out in self-destructive ways. We may take our anger out on loved ones because they are easy targets. We may take our anger out on our children because they are weaker than we are.

As in the grieving process, the crisis response process has definite phases. Not everyone goes through each phase and not everyone goes though the phases in order. Buy be aware than the phases are common and you or your loved ones may experience them.

Shock -- At first we are in shock and disbelief that something of a crisis nature can be happening to us. This shock can allow us to be in a state of denial for quite some time until we are ready to deal with the crisis.

Denial - How many times have you said, "This can't be happening to me. " Or, when the doctor has given you bad news about a loved one haven't you heard someone say, "This cannot be correct. Let's get another opinion. "

Overwhelming thoughts or emotions -- As we get over the shock and denial of the situation we are ready to flood our mind with overwhelming thoughts. We may have day dreams, fantasies, depression, shame, or anxiety. We often cannot control the repetitive nature of these thoughts.

Acceptance -- After time we often become more accepting of what is happening and we are ready to work through the problems and all of their ramification and impacts on our lives.

Conclusion -- One way or another each crisis does have a conclusion. After we deal with the other stages we are left with a desire to see things to their conclusion. Even if we are dying we may eventually accept this and move towards a peaceful exit from this world.

If we happen to be in the support role there are some very definite actions we can take to help our loved one move through a crisis. Here are some tips to be excellent supporters.

Communication is most important -- Here is when all of your listening skills will be called into play. Your loved one needs to know that you will be there to listen to them and to react appropriately. This is not the time for judgments and criticism. This is the time for listening, comforting and supportive dialogue.

You are not alone -- It is important for the person going through the crisis to understand that they are not the first person to go through this situation. It's helpful to tell your loved one to take things slowly; one day at a time. It is also important to see if any support groups exist for the crisis being experienced.

Share Feelings -- Let your friend talk and express their emotions. Do not be afraid of emotions and back away. Your friend will sense your discomfort and may stop talking to you.

Take steps -- Find some definitive steps that can be taken to relieve some of the stress related crisis. Often by taking positive action some of the panic or pain can be relieved, even if only for awhile.

Pray -- if you and your loved one are religious the power of prayer is mighty. Use your faith to get though.

See also

• Constitutional crisis
• Coup d'état
• Crisis state
• Distress signal
  • Mayday
  • SOS
• Energy crisis
• Mid-life crisis
• Revolution
• War

References

http://www.copingwithcrisis.com

Further reading

1. Borodzicz, E. P. 2005 'Risk, Crisis and Security Management' John Wileys, Chichester. ISBN 0-470-86704-3
2. Lebow, RN, Between Peace and War: The Nature of International Crisis: 1981. The Rancho Bernardo Hopkins University Press, ISBN 0-8018-2311-0.