A Family Under Crisis

 While I have enjoyed all of the topics discussed in my class so far, this week's lessons were very impactful for me. During our lectures the past few days, my class talked about stress, crises, and the implications of these factors within family life. In talking about stressful life events, I had an opportunity to reflect on my own family and some of the stressors we have faced and are currently facing. As a result, I gained some much-needed insight into my family's current stressors. Here is some of what I learned:

One of the most important things I learned was what a crisis means within family life and the line between stress and distress. Looking at crisis first, it simply refers to a situation that requires change within a family. Although these events are typically very stressful, a crisis does not have to equal a long-term breakdown of a family. Adding to this idea, while stress is naturally occurring, especially in times of crisis, it does not always have to make us distressed. As I reflected on this principle, I couldn't help but think of an event in my family's life during the summer of 2019. At this time, I had just graduated from high school, and my sister was visiting from college. Trying to make the most of my sister and my time with the family before we left for college, my mom planned plenty of family activities that summer. While these activities proved to be exciting and family bonding, they also led us to notice some strange new behaviors in my younger brother. In particular, we began to focus on his excessive water consumption. And when I say excessive, I mean excessive. One weekend while walking through a local museum and petting zoo, my brother drank his entire water bottle, my mom's and mine, and was still thirsty. As the summer closed out, we noticed other symptoms that eventually led to my brother's type 1 diabetes diagnosis. 

While it would have been easy for my family to fall into distress, we survived this crisis by using our stress to focus on what adjustments we needed to make to accommodate my brother's condition. We found time for quarterly endocrinologist appointments, adjusted our family's eating habits, and frequently discussed the topic together as a family. This example from my family life fit well with the ABCX Model, which we learned about in class too. The ABCX Model involves the interaction of 3 things: a stressor, the resources we have and how they're applied, and how we think about the problem. These elements work together to form "x" or our experience. Within my family example above, the stressor was my brother's diagnosis. Looking at resources, the support of our religion and church community, prior experiences with my dad's type 1 diabetes, our local hospital's type 1 diabetes program, and friends were essential. Finally, rather than viewing this chronic condition as the end of the world, we recognized that, while it would be a lifelong reality for my brother, we had lots of medical advancements and the support of his family and friends to help him navigate his condition. 

In closing, one thing that has helped me manage times of crisis is to look at it as an opportunity. We don't have control over our circumstances in these scenarios, but we can control our responses to them and whether or not we will let them strengthen us or wash us away. Although it is often difficult to ask for help from others, the support of community, family, friends, and more can be integral to our success in life.