The psychological crisis consists of three basic components: the occurrence of the crisis event, the perception of the crisis event leading to the subjective suffering of the person concerned, and the breakdown of the usual response. The psychological crisis reflects the situation in which the person's level of psychological, emotional and behavioural functioning has decreased after an emergency。
Caplan, known as the “father of modern crises”, believes that when an individual faces a difficult situation, a state of psychological distress can arise if his previous approach or support system to the crisis is inadequate to deal with the current situation。
The characteristics of a psychological crisis include: the existence of a promotional event; the complexity of the symptoms; the irregular duration of the crisis; significant individual differences; and its covert nature while being influenced by the characteristics of the times。
The onset of psychological crises is often accompanied by individual psychological imbalances. In the event of a crisis, the original coping mechanism is ineffective and unable to respond effectively to current pressures, resulting in impaired psychological functioning. This state of affairs may be characterized by emotional fluctuations, anxiety, depression, and may even affect daily life and work。
It is noteworthy that the hidden nature of the psychological crisis means that the person concerned may not be able to detect the anomaly of his or her state in a timely manner and that external observers may also have difficulty in making accurate judgements. The timely identification of early signals of psychological crisis and the provision of necessary support and intervention are therefore essential。
The indefinite duration of a psychological crisis means that the duration of the crisis may be short or long, depending on factors such as the effectiveness of individual coping strategies, the strength of social support systems and individual psychological resilience。
Individual differences also play an important role in psychological crises. Different individuals face the same crisis events with potentially distinct reactions. This is closely related to individual characteristics, past experiences, coping strategies, etc。
The psychological crisis is influenced not only by personal factors but also by the context of the times and the social context. As societies develop and change, the manifestations and scope of psychological crises may change。
