Don't Panic

"Don't panic!"

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to say don't panic and how hard it is to not?

There are those times when you're going to panic. Fear will set into your bones. Reality will come crashing down upon you like the asteroid Apophis smashing into your house while you sleep.

It's even worse when you know enough to know that panic or fear is warranted. For instance, when someone is pointing a loaded gun at you. Or when you know from experience and training that you're in imminent danger.

Who hasn't been in a position of imminent danger? Who among us hasn't panicked?

Dangerous situations can be the result of many various circumstances. They can be the result of accidents. Accidents happen to people. It's a part of life. We're taught not to panic when we're driving. A panicked reaction can make the accident worse.

What other areas of life can breed dangerous situations?

Social Events: A random party gets shot up by gun violence nearly every weekend in some cities. Consider the Las Vegas concert shooting. Or something as simple as going to a movie in Colorado might mean you're at the site of a mass shooting.

Random Street Crime: Imagine you're walking down the street, and someone aims a gun at you. It happens. In 2022 I found myself staring down the barrel of a Glock in the hand of an angry gangbanger.

Disasters: In the wrong place and time, any person can be a disaster victim. Things like fires, earthquakes, category V storms, and other tragic events are a part of living in this world.

Bad Decisions: Sometimes, it is our own bad decisions that put us in dangerous situations.

Don't Panic! That's the best and most universally applicable advice for dangerous situations.

What happens when the situation you're in isn't something you could have exercised any control over? Imagine being in a dangerous situation, or a dangerous predicament, and knowing that you're on the edge without control.

It feels like being in the ocean, treading water. You're out there. You're miles from shore and safety. You're tired, and your body aches. The only thing you understand is the beast nipping at your heels.

Don't Panic!

Fear surrounds you as you realize how dire the situation is. You feel its warm breath on your neck as it wraps around you. It weighs on you as it blankets your time.

What do you do besides not panic?

Waves of fear washed over me, leaving my head barely above water. 70/57 isn't a healthy number. I could feel the life inside me, and it didn't have the strength to inspire confidence. As a first responder, I had sent many men and women to the hospital due to poor vitals.

65/50 came, and the ability to stay conscious and alert was fading more and more. Don't panic! What's happening? Why isn't pushing fluids helping? Figure it out!

The brain helps control your emotions, and panic is a response born from emotions. Panic comes from fear, and fear is the biggest of the stinky emotions we suffer. Learning to control emotions will help to keep you from fear.

At a point, the other side was there. The feel of a toe as it dipped into the cold and icy waters of the other side wasn't unfamiliar. 59/48 comes and you know things are as dire as they've ever been. But why?

Having pushed through the past seven months as my body and medical science battle with a death sentence, chemotherapy is as risky as cancer. It can hurt your body, damage your organs, and rob you of the time you might have otherwise enjoyed.

Last week, I missed my first work appointment because of cancer and all the ravaging effects of chemo. But I'm not panicking.

There's only one go-around in this life. As the icy hand of what might be my fate attempted to grab onto me, I got up and pushed through. Get your blood pumping. It's the chemo and the effects it has on you slowing everything to a crawl.

Fate, or the grip of the future that some doctors said was inevitable, will have to work a little harder if it wants to drag my sweet ass to the other side.

Note: After looking it up, the lower blood pressure number being below 60 for too long can lead to cardiac complications. Chances are, as I finish the therapies, it's time to slow down. The body can only take so much strain before it fails on us.