How can I get better/calmer and cope with adrenaline in a crisis?

[orchidsonabudget]

Over the past 10 years we have had a few "near miss" crisis situations
And I completely lost my head.

Child needed to go to A&E
Locked out of a holiday apartment late at night abroad-
Lost DC for approx 30 mins

In all of these sitations I have become a complete nervous wreck - it must be the adrenaline as I end up feeling really sick - spent a lot of the wait at A&E puking in the loo becuase I was so worried and (tmi) desperately needing a poo - this was very difficult when locked out

Is there anything I can do better to prepare for this kind of emergency????

Go see your GP
They may be able to recommend medication to help calm you quickly

Unfortunately this is biology and an example of your fight/flight/freeze response kicking in. You can’t stop it from happening but things that may help are calm breathing and grounding techniques such as focusing on what you can see, hear, feel and smell.
www.healthline.com/health/grounding-techniques More ideas

Lost dc and child in a/e I probably would be exactly the same tbh.
Locked out not so much. No answers but you are not on your own
I definitely get the nausea and dodgy tummy when I’m nervous which miraculously removes once normality has resumed !

Also just normalising that all of those are horrible situations and it’s okay to lose your head for a little bit! You’re only human 😊

Yes I get this too. I think what srk is saying that this is normal

Interestingly, as I read this, I've just finished reading an article in the Guardian about the dangers of pathologising normal human reactions.

I mean, going full Sistine Chapel at the drop of a hat probably isn't a good thing, but being worried about a missing child or something is perfectly normal.

I coach a sport at an amateur level and did some training a few years ago, in which I took away something very useful from the leader - 'you can't always control a situation or somebody else's behaviour, but what you can control is your reaction to it'.

If I feel myself getting panicky or tetchy, I find breathing exercises are really useful and trying to objectify things - look at them from the outside in, rather than allowing yourself to get caught up in a cycle in your own head.

Allow yourself to feel, though. Worry / anger / sadness etc are all totally fine. We can feel those emotions without allowing them to overwhelm us.

I think it's genetic honestly. I've been in a few proper emergencies, including overdoses, accidents, assaults etc. I sail through. No trick, just built that way.

When I lost toddler DD I lost my living shit and aged 20 years in 20 minutes. Bloody kid.

Focus on and slow down your breath. Your body is doing what it's supposed to do when it perceives a crisis (I always need an urgent poo when I'm scared)

Google breathing techniques, grounding techniques and maybe mindfulness but also recognise it's pretty normal