Abstract
Throughout this text, we have discussed the body and mind’s continuing struggle to maintain homeostasis. As the body struggles to maintain a physical homeostasis (Cannon in The wisdom of the body. Horton, New York, 1932) , or “steady state,” the mind struggles to maintain a similar balance. As a medical crisis is a state wherein physiological homeostasis has been disrupted with resultant physical distress and dysfunction, we then see the possibility of a psychological analogue. A psychological crisis is a response to a critical incident or distressing event wherein the individual’s psychological balance has been disrupted. There is, in effect, a psychological disequilibrium. This disequilibrium results because the individual’s usual coping mechanisms have failed. The predictable result is the emergence of evidence of acute psychological or behavioral distress coupled with some degree of functional impairment.
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Everly, G.S., Lating, J.M. (2019). Crisis Intervention and Psychological First Aid. In: A Clinical Guide to the Treatment of the Human Stress Response. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9098-6_10
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