Although smart planning is the key to effectively dealing with periods of crisis, you may find yourself suddenly dealing with an unexpected event that you didn’t prepare for, and you wonder what to do next. Whether you’re planning ahead or dealing with a crisis now, take control. There’s no escaping the fact that a crisis is a life-changing event, but how you handle a crisis will, in part, determine whether your life changes for the better or for the worse.
Dealing with the death of a family member
When your spouse or a family member has died, you may need to plan the funeral, organize your finances, and claim life insurance benefits. You may need to serve as executor of your loved one’s estate, and you may need to be familiar with estate settlement procedures.
Dealing with Illness or Disability
Harness your emotions
If you find out that you, or someone close to you is sick, hurt, or dying, you’ll probably feel numb, scared, angry, sad, anxious, or even panicked. It’s likely that your initial feelings will change, but you may never accept your situation. You don’t necessarily have to accept illness and its consequences to deal with it, however, and you can control how you react to it. In fact, some people need to feel in control of everything when they become sick because they are unable to control their disease. Remember that this need for control is common, and it can be positive if you use your energy to make unemotional decisions that will affect you and your loved ones.
Find support
When you’re sick or hurt or caring for someone else who is, it’s vital to have a support network. Hopefully, you have close friends and relatives that will help you. But many people don’t come forward to help and even well-intentioned friends and relatives may not give you as much help as you need. Fortunately, there are many community resources available to help you.
Find a way to pay your bills
Paying your bills when you’re sick can be hard because you can’t work at all or perhaps can work only part-time. If you own your own disability insurance policy, check your coverage and contact your insurance company for claims information. Your employer may have group disability insurance that you aren’t aware of that will help you. If you were hurt or became sick from job-related causes, you may be able to collect benefits from workers’ compensation. If your disability is expected to last a year or more (or even result in your death), you may be eligible for Social Security disability benefits. But if you have no hope of receiving disability insurance benefits, you’ll have to cut your expenses and rely on your savings or spousal income. If you have limited income, you may be able to qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits or other government programs.
Determine how the illness will affect your job
If you work and become sick or get hurt, or if you have to care for someone else who is ill, you’re probably worried about how you’re going to keep your job. First, talk to your employer about what benefits you are entitled to in the event you are disabled. Your employer may be used to dealing with situations like yours and may have programs in place that you don’t know about. Next, be aware that if you work for a company that employs 50 or more people, you may be entitled to take up to 12 weeks unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 if you need time off to recuperate or to care for someone else.
When her mother was seriously injured in a car crash, Marcy wanted to fly to Dallas to take care of her. Because of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, Marcy was able to take eight weeks of unpaid leave from her job, and she was restored to her former position at the same level of pay and benefits when she returned to work.
Plan for the future
Planning for the future is vital. When you’re sick, you suddenly realize the limits of your own mortality and your priorities may become clearer. It’s a good idea at this point to set new priorities and goals for the future. If you’re terminally ill, this step is critical. You may also need to quickly revise your financial and estate plans. Even if you expect to recover from your illness, you’ll benefit from reviewing your insurance coverage and your financial plans and by applying lessons learned from your illness to planning for the future.