A crisis is a period or an event which may lead to a dangerous or unstable situation that distresses an individual, a society, or a group. It is an adverse change in environmental or human affairs, especially when happening abruptly, with little or no warning. A crisis may take different forms: being robbed, assaulted, or harassed, facing death or illness, or even losing a job. Sometimes, it can be prompted by inner stressors such as despair with undesirable self-talk. The crisis requires one’s attention; hence seeking assistance helps one address a range of problems they might not have considered. Early intervention can significantly improve one’s ability to cope with what has occurred and its effect on their life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was involved in a severe financial crisis that triggered me to seek emergency assistance from several firms and individuals to intervene in my situation.
The Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic was an emergency disaster that caught each person unaware and unprepared. I am one of the individuals who were negatively afflicted by the outbreak in many ways. I worked in a certain company as a cashier, and my life was running smoothly since I had some income to take care of our family. Although I had a frequent income flow from the job, I had not thought of saving or investing some portion of the money. I also used the income to pay my fees since I attended part-time studies in a nearby institution. I had previously never been into any form of a financial crisis; hence I could not think that something like that might happen to me.
When the COVID outbreak was announced, the government imposed strict restrictions and regulations on businesses, such as the closure of hotels and restaurants to minimize the interaction of people. The restrictions set were to curb the spread of the disease and struck many individuals through losing their jobs, which happened abruptly with no one’s prediction. I lost my job unexpectedly with no savings, no investment, or any other source of income, and I was the breadwinner of our family. Therefore, that led me to depression since I had no clue what to do afterward, and everyone else was looking upon me to provide.
At first, I thought the COVID outbreak was a short-term thing; hence I had little hope of resuming work after a while. Then, the disaster persistent daily with no signs of diminishing, and one day it struck our family. My parents got infected with the disease, and also, I later got ill. That was the worst moment of my life since I had to seek medication for them and myself though I was financially unstable. The circumstance forced me to seek help from friends until it came to a point when they could not help further since the medication became expensive. I could not bear that anymore and decided to apply for emergency assistance from agencies since the whole family had gone into an unpleasing state. I applied for emergency assistance from Federal Emergency Management Agency. They helped our family get the required medication and supported us financially for a while until I got well.

A crisis can be in different forms, such as a financial crisis, and can arise anytime regardless of economic status. Therefore, it entails immediate intervention through seeking assistance from agencies, friends, or family members. In cases like the one I underwent, it is crucial to apply for any form of help. If one does not get help early after experiencing a crisis, personal distress may lengthen and lead to bad decision-making.