• Thu. Jun 5th, 2025
Climate & Environment

COMIC: Don’t panic! 6 strategies to keep you calm in a crisis

ByNPR

June 4, 2025 5:00 am

House fires, mass shootings, emergency medical procedures and mental health crises. Emergencies can happen at any time — and knowing how to overcome feelings of panic, stress and indecision can be a matter of life or death.

Ryan Fields-Spack, a veteran first responder who has worked as a paramedic, a fire captain and a firefighter, and Dr. Italo Brown, an emergency physician and assistant professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, share real-world tactics they use on the job to stay cool and focused.

An illustrated comic panel shows a woman running in a panic out of the right side of the frame. An "Emergency EXIT" sign with an arrow points in the opposite direction. Text at the top of the panel reads "How to stay calm during emergencies." The credits at the bottom of the frame read: "Reported by Andee Tagle. Comic by Anika Orrock" with an NPR Life Kit logo in the bottom right of the frame.
An illustrated comic panel shows a woman standing at the sink in an oversized yellow T-shirt that says "Chillaxin" as she prepares to brush her teeth. Thought bubbles showing different emergency scenarios washed with a red color surround her head, including: a fire, someone choking, a car crash, an earthquake, and a tornado. Text at the bottom of the frame reads: "We all know it's important to remain calm in an emergency."
An illustrated comic panel shows a woman brushing her teeth as she leans over a phone that shows an emergency tornado warning, depicted by a red speech bubble emanating from the phone with a drawing of a tornado. Text at the top of the panel reads: "Stress can make us panic and impair our ability to make lifesaving decisions."
Three illustrated scenarios show a woman reacting to a tornado warning. In the first, she freezes as she brushes her teeth, and her phone lights up with emergency notifications. The screen shows a tornado drawing with one exclamation point, a tornado with two exclamation points, and then a third speech bubble that says, “Seek shelter immediately!! HELLOOOOO!!” The second spot she throws her toothbrush and grabs her husband by the shoulders shouldering, “DO SOMETHING!” In the third spot, she runs outside aimlessly, toothbrush still flying as the wind carries leaves and twigs. Text at the top of the panel reads: "But it can be tough to overcome our body’s natural fear responses in a dire situation." Text at the bottom of the panel reads: "The good news? Anyone can learn to keep cool in a crisis. Emergency response professionals share strategies they use on the job."
Text reads at the top of the illustrated comic panel reads: “Tip 1: Practice “First, Just Breathe. If disaster strikes, follow this quick mantra coined by Ryan Fields-Spack, a veteran first responder, to actively calm your body and help you gain composure." An illustration shows a woman holding a phone displaying a tornado warning. Her jaw is clenched, her fist is closed and her shoulders are raised. Small circles in different colors identify all the areas she’s tensing, and the color of those circles corresponds to text, explaining how to relax your jaw (green), relax your fist (light blue), and breathe (dark blue). Small highlighted bubbles on the right correspond with the color First = Fist (light blue) Shake out your hands to release tension Just = Jaw (green) Unclench, move and relax your jaw Breathe … (dark blue) Slow and steady to lower your anxiety level. An illustration at the bottom of the frame shows Ryan Fields-Spack with a speech bubble that says “This takes five seconds and is a superpower.” A small text box with an arrow pointing to Fields-Spack says: “Fields-Spack has worked as a paramedic, a firefighter and a fire captain.”
Text at the top of the illustrated comic panel reads: “Tip 2: In the moment of crisis, pause and think before you act. Our brains are wired to kick into fight-or-flight mode before we can even process what is happening. That may lead to costly mistakes, Fields-Spack warns.” An illustration of the woman’s face in profile and silhouette shows an outline of her brain, divided into triangles to look like a sort of meter with each slide in a different color, green, red, yellow and blue, with a little black dial at the bottom in the center. The different slices each show a mode her brain has entered in reaction to the emergency, from left to right, they read: “Freeze!” “Denial. Nope, nope, nope.” “WTF?!” “RUN!!!” “Throw stuff?????” “OK, hold it, sister. Let’s think for a second.” A text box at the bottom of the Fram reads: “So instead of acting out of panic, he says, stop briefly and ask yourself: “ What is the best way to handle this situation.”
Text at the top of the illustrated comic panel reads: “You can also plan and rehearse for potential emergencies ahead of time.” An illustration shows the woman and her husband speaking. She holds a notepad that says “Tornado prep list:” with a pencil behind her ear. He puts a flashlight into an open backpack. A speech bubble coming from the woman shows different drawings symbolizing emergency supplies with a check mark next to each one, including: clothing, shoes, water, a helmet, a backpack with a flashlight, a whistle, a charger, and a radio, and a bag of cookies. The man responds with a speech bubble that shows the bag of cookies with a question mark next to it. A text box at the bottom of the frame reads: “You’ll be less scared and more prepared,” Fields-Spack says.
Text at the top of the illustrated comic panel reads: “Tip 3: Hyperfocus. At the onset of a critical moment, tune into your breath and tune out distractions so you can hyperfocus on the task at hand, says emergency physician Dr. Italo Brown.” Below are two bubbles illustrating different scenes. On the left, in a yellow color wash, is Dr. Italo Brown wearing scrubs and PPE as he works on a patient in the ER and engages in hyperfocus. On the right is another scene in a red color wash, with the woman leaning over a man who is passed out on the floor of a restaurant, listening for breath and feeling for a pulse, tuning out distractions and engaging in hyperfocus as his wife calls for help in the background. The woman is tuning
Text at the top of the illustrated comic panel reads: “Tip 4: Try giving yourself positive self-talk, Brown says.” An illustration shows Dr. Brown on one side, with a yellow wash, and the woman on the right side, with a red wash. Both have their eyes closed and are trying to remain calm. A thought bubble shared between them says, “You’ve got this.” A text box at the bottom of the frame reads: “If you’re a praying person, you can also say a prayer, he says. Both can ease the pressure of the moment and provide encouragement to press through.”
Text at the top of the illustrated comic panel reads: “Tip 5: Practice mindfulness, meditation and breath work to steady yourself in future crises, says Fields-Spack. An illustration shows the woman sitting in a swiveling desk chair, facing away from her laptop. She holds one hand on her chest and one on her stomach, with her eyes closed, counting to five as she exhales. A text box at the bottom of the frame reads: “Studies show that even five minutes a day can reduce anxiety, regulate emotion, and better equip us for high-stress uncertainties.”
Text at the top of the illustrated comic panel reads: “Tip 6: Learn lifesaving skills. You never know when you might need them. The comic panel is divided into two. In the top panel, an illustration shows Dr. Brown instructing the women how to administer chest compressions in a CPR class. To the left, a quote says, “There are certain emergencies you can anticipate and prepare for,” Brown says. A text box between the two scenes says, “And while we can’t prepare for everything …” Then, an image below shows the scene from an earlier panel where the woman was doing CPR on a man who had passed out after choking at a restaurant. He is conscious with his eyes open and his wife gratefully kneels over him as he lies on the floor. The woman in the background who gave CPR says, “Whew!” As she looks on. A quote at the bottom of the frame reads: “If you know what to do now, you’ve helped change the arc of that person’s life,” says Brown.

Anika Orrock is a writer, illustrator, cartoonist and author of The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

This story was edited by Malaka Gharib. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.

Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekit.

Read original article on npr.org »

ByNPR

© 2025 npr

Related Post

Climate & Environment Science

FEMA was starting to fix long-standing problems. Then came the Trump administration

June 5, 2025 NPR
Climate & Environment

How New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern broke the political mold

June 4, 2025 NPR
Climate & Environment

Months after Hurricane Helene, some North Carolinians still struggle to find housing

June 2, 2025 NPR

Leave a Reply

You missed

Politics Tech

From bromance to breakup: How Elon Musk and Donald Trump blew up

June 5, 2025 6:54 pm NPR
Culture

Here to Help: A man’s decades-long history with Habitat for Humanity

June 5, 2025 6:07 pm NPR
Culture

Fans drive huge Nintendo Switch 2 launch; others play the waiting game

June 5, 2025 6:07 pm NPR
Business & Economics

Trump’s tariffs could cut deficit by $2.8 trillion over next decade — with caveats

June 5, 2025 6:06 pm NPR