A crisis is not a catastrophe.

Crisis. Are crises synonymous with disasters? Considering the origin of the word, the answer is clearly no. The ancient Greek term "krísis" means nothing other than "judgment" and "decision." Therefore, crises are not inherently negative. The ancient Greeks understood them more as a kind of culmination, as a moment in which decisions must be made, problems overcome, and obstacles surmounted. Each person experiences such "critical" moments in their personal development: crossroads, formative experiences, separations, losses, and overwhelm. Crises are a part of life. The question is: How do we deal with them? "New strengths always arise from crises," as former Federal Minister for Youth, Family, and Health and President of the German Bundestag Rita Süssmuth once said. And she articulates what experts have long suspected: crises are important for our personal growth. And once we have overcome them, we usually emerge stronger. For someone currently in the midst of a mess, this may not be a helpful thought, but at least it is a comforting one. Although each experience unfolds a bit differently, crises generally go through four different phases. Initially, we do not want to acknowledge the crisis; we deny and resist the changes. In the second phase, the crisis cannot be ignored any longer. It is a time of intense emotions. Anger and fear overwhelm us. We struggle, complain, and yet feel powerless and helpless in the face of the problems we now confront. In the third phase, we slowly become more active again. It is the time of reorientation. We search for ways out, for solutions. We make decisions. Only in the fourth and final phase do we gradually settle back in, finding a new balance. At the end of this phase, we can also see the positive aspects of the situation, perhaps with some distance. Now everything is put to the test The loss of a loved one, an illness, a breakup, a dismissal – there are various triggers for personal crises. Sometimes it is simply entering a new phase of life that challenges our previous goals, relationships, roles, and values. The crisis itself is not the problem. The problem arises when we get stuck in the first two phases, resist changes persistently, cannot channel our emotions constructively, and fail to reorient ourselves after a period of fear, anger, and sorrow. So, the central question is: Do we remain in the victim role? Do we stay passive, or do we become active participants in our lives again? Professionals call the ability to overcome problems coping skills. This can look like this: Analyze: What is currently going wrong? What exactly is the problem? What is my role in the situation? Do I need to rethink my previous goals? Focus on the essentials: What and who truly matters to me? What can, what must I change? On what strengths can I rely? Adjust yourself: What are my (new) goals? What stages must I overcome on the way? What boundaries must I set? What do I need to let go of to move forward? Some people go through this process alone, while others seek (professional) support. The results of a crisis can indeed be positive: we have learned to take better care of our health, we have found that our partner stands by us even in difficult times, we have discovered our inner strength, we manage our time better, etc. In summary, to grow from a crisis, we must learn to accept it and see it as an opportunity. As the Swiss writer Max Frisch once beautifully put it: "A crisis is a productive state. One must only remove the taste of catastrophe from it."