Crisis

What is a crisis?

A crisis is a state of acute internal disruption. It may follow a single event, a loss, shock, or confrontation, or it may emerge after a slow build-up of stress and uncertainty. In either case, it’s marked by a sense of urgency, unpredictability, and collapse of meaning.

How it might show up:

• Sudden emotional overwhelm, panic, or shutdown
• Disorientation, confusion, or derealisation
• Inability to sleep, eat, focus, or plan
• Intense inner conflict or existential questioning
• Acting impulsively or withdrawing completely
• A sense of life falling apart or of having lost control over it

Crisis isn’t always dramatic from the outside but internally, it can feel like the foundation of your life is shaking.

How CBT helps

CBT offers a stabilising framework during periods of acute distress. Rather than rushing to fix the crisis, CBT slows
the process down, helping you separate facts from fear, reduce overwhelm, and make practical, values-based decisions.

What treatment involves:

• Crisis mapping identifying stressors, vulnerabilities, and current patterns

• Psychoeducation about the body’s threat response and emotional flooding

• Grounding strategies to reduce cognitive overload

• Cognitive restructuring to address catastrophic thinking or hopelessness

• Behavioural tools for containment, pacing, and choice

• Short-term planning for decisions, boundaries, and safety

Work in crisis is highly collaborative, focused on stabilisation first, and deeper work later if appropriate.