My father used to say: When in danger, fear and doubt, run in circles, scream and shout - PANIC. This is what happened to my family and I as in a fully loaded car, we attempted to drive up the snow covered hill on our way to the ferry port back to the UK. As our tires spun on the snow that was rapidly turning to ice, our plans of travel suddenly changed. This got me thinking about sudden changes to plans and ways to support people when the proverbial hits the fan.

I am a strong believer in the late great Terry Pratchett’s statement in the Bromeliad which goes more or less like this - “change is good, change is great, it's things not staying the same he didn't like”. This is a key piece of information about change, sudden change and novelty are not synonymous. I can be perfectly excited to try a new restaurant, where I have research parking, the menu, the reviews and if it is accessible. I will wobble if the restaurant is unexpectedly closed and we go to the place across the road that “looks interesting”. One is novel, new and exciting, the other is an unknown quantity with unknown outcomes. So my first key point is to give people time to process. To keep talking about restaurants, let me Google it before walking in and asking for a table.

So on our adventure across France we got stranded on the side of the motorway, yeah I know luck wasn't our friend this trip. Why do I bring this up? Because sometimes change happens and you don't have process time. We couldn't sit and research our way off the side of the 3 lane road. So what do you do when sudden change needs sudden action?  

Plans suddenly changing can dysregulate even the most easy going among us. This can lead to shut downs or meltdowns, particularly when additional stressors are added. Minimise the other demands, give people clear and to the point updates. If it is possible to do so safely in a rapidly changing situation work with spikey profiles - I am eternally grateful to my headphones, and a weighted lap blanket goes a long way to making people feel safe.

The dysregulation that comes from change is not just being a bit unhappy that something didn’t happen, it can be full on fight, flight or freeze. When plans change particularly if they are changing rapidly and/or on the fly, it can completely sideswipe someone. A whole set of events that was known becomes murky and unclear - even after the new plan is put in place the sense of being off kilter can last for days. This is where working on nervous system regulation comes in, there are many somatic exercises that can help support anyone to reregulate and calm the swelling panic. My personal way of bringing myself back into the world is gallows humour and swearing, however there are more practical and physical steps that can be taken when the world goes sideways. If you know you dysregulate during change before a crisis hits, think about what can bring you back into the moment and down from crisis point. 

After the last few weeks I can safely say, change can be wonderful and novel, but when it comes out of the blue it can be scary and unbelievably stressful to navigate. When tires blow out or you get snowed in or the restaurant is shut, the universe throws change at you - and sometimes you could really do without it. Nothing will stop all sudden changes in plans completely, but with a little bit of planning and a little bit of support sudden changes can be weathered.