How capable are you in a crisis?

Rocker

Be honest. I mean situations such as water pissing out under your washing machine. I mean breaking a string one minute before the gig starts. Or discovering that your amp has gone silent a few minutes before you play, especially when depping. Do you fume and say fuck fuck and wonder out loud why does this always happen to me? Are you a capable diy person who knows where the stopcock/mcb unit is?. Would you know who to call in to fix a leaking radiator pipe? I know a lot of you guys are good with your hands - the builds and upgrades are amazing. Not sure what my question is really but can you perform under pressure or when in the spotlight?

dafuzz

It's not usually the situation itself, it's other people that are most likely to stress me out with their panicking. I'll just watch the whole shithouse go up in flames and shrug, but when people start getting hysterical I want to punch them out. Unless it's a videogame and then I go apeshit

chillidoggy

Yes. Except for pre-gigs I get all jittery, and wonder what the hell I'm doing. Just as well we don't gig very often. Apart from that I'm pretty well handy.

mike_l

Same as @dafuzz it's others getting stressed around me that knackers me.

Generally I'm pretty level-headed.

xHymnal

mike_l said:

Same as @dafuzz it's others getting stressed around me that knackers me.

Generally I'm pretty level-headed.

dafuzz said:

It's not usually the situation itself, it's other people that are most likely to stress me out with their panicking. I'll just watch the whole shithouse go up in flames and shrug, but when people start getting hysterical I want to punch them out. Unless it's a videogame and then I go apeshit

I tend to find that a stern backhand to the face diffuses most situations like this. 

Obviously though YMMV.

Stevepage

I don't deal with stress too well as I have a temper that I struggle to control at times. So usually I tend to panic at first then I'll clear my head and get to the bottom of the problem. 

Sambostar

Kind of agree with Dafuzz as well, if I'm on my own I'II fix it, if others are around and they are the type to busily organise a hierarchy of competence and competitive alpha maleship amidst their panic and shouting, I'II just walk away and have a fag or just fix it anyway. 

Life is too short for panicking and I find my seemingly complacent manner, calmness and reasonably total adversity to danger, whilst having a handle on caution in a crisis and being methodological just upsets and antagonises people who are busy panicking and trying to organise a committee to deal with the problem. 

Although in all honesty sometimes I'II just walk away and have a fag anyway, I'm not a very good team player, especially with morons.

But then I wouldn't classify a mains pressure leak or the washing machine leaking as a crisis.

ICBM

I usually surprise myself that my level of calmness and ability to deal with things seems to increase with the severity of the crisis, for some reason. Trivial things go wrong and I can get very annoyed and frustrated - major things go wrong and I remain calm and can think clearly. No idea why.

Fuzzdog

ICBM said:

I usually surprise myself that my level of calmness and ability to deal with things seems to increase with the severity of the crisis, for some reason. Trivial things go wrong and I can get very annoyed and frustrated - major things go wrong and I remain calm and can think clearly. No idea why.

That's exactly how I am - small things get me frustrated, but for some reason when the big things happen, I'm almost spookily calm and able to deal with them,

breakstuff

This was tested quite recently when I hammered a nail into a radiator pipe buried in a wall.I must say I didn't handle it too well.Much running around grabbing my head and crying "no no" until I realised my time could be better spent by actually turning the water supply off.
Did that very thing then went outside with my head down like a naughty school kid and uttered,barely audibly to my wife "I've done something really stupid"

Oddly she found it quite amusing.

sinbaadi

ICBM said:

I usually surprise myself that my level of calmness and ability to deal with things seems to increase with the severity of the crisis, for some reason. Trivial things go wrong and I can get very annoyed and frustrated - major things go wrong and I remain calm and can think clearly. No idea why.

Similar here.  People have accused me of being in denial about things, and I've asked myself the same, but it's like a switch gets flicked at a certain stress level.  The little things will give me an ulcer, if anything ever does, not the zombie apocalypse.

VimFuego

must say that all the times I broken someone's string or made their washing machine leak I've been monumentally calm, so I'd say I'm very good in a crisis.

holnrew

I get very stressed, but don't really show it. It's kind of a seething determination. Once I get through a tough situation though I tend to fall to bits.

richardhomer

In unbelievably stressful circumstances (the death of several close relatives spring to mind) I'm very composed - there's a sense of wanting to make it as bearable as possible for others.

I often 'lose it' over much more minor things.

digitalscream

I tend to be good in a crisis - I'm usually the one who's calm and collected, and most of my friends tend to let me take charge. I am, however, less effective day-to-day and tend to let my stress levels constantly increase while things are going well.

Never said I was normal.

koneguitarist

I would say after walking out on deck whilst Skyhawks are dropping bombs at my ship whilst eating Maltesers, I find that nothing during my gigs down here has got me too worried. 

Mind you after playing some of the old miners clubs down in the Welsh valleys back in the 70's, nothing would worry you after that!

Having to stop playing after a fight to try and find someone's ear, tends to prepare you for anything

stickyfiddle

I'm pretty good. Minor stuff irritates me far more than big things in general

stimpsonslostson

I'm "irritatingly calm" under pressure according to Mrs Lost-Son. I think I've been trained to think clearly under pressure- I was a life guard for 15years. Panicking when someone's struggling is NOT an option. I now run a lab. Again, panicking under stress could be fatal. 

The best I can describe it is to say that I go into autopilot, deal with the issue... THEN once it's done I go "oh sh1t!!" sometimes getting the full adrenaline shakes etc. 

Grunfeld

My capabilities and coping definitely vary according to the nature of the crisis.  For stuff I've been trained in I know I work well and I don't get stressed even when relatives and others are flapping and panicking.  It's when I don't know what to do that I get a bit, "oh shit... what next?" but keeping calm is crucial.  There have been occasions in the past where I've flapped and once it's over and you reflect you realise that getting stressed is completely the opposite of what's needed.

hugbot

Not great. I don't usually get stage fright though.

Handsome_Chris

Rocker said:

Be honest. I mean situations such as water pissing out under your washing machine. I mean breaking a string one minute before the gig starts. Or discovering that your amp has gone silent a few minutes before you play, especially when depping. Do you fume and say fuck fuck and wonder out loud why does this always happen to me? Are you a capable diy person who knows where the stopcock/mcb unit is?. Would you know who to call in to fix a leaking radiator pipe? I know a lot of you guys are good with your hands - the builds and upgrades are amazing. Not sure what my question is really but can you perform under pressure or when in the spotlight?

@Rocker, are you a bit of a jellyfish when put under pressure?  I only ask because not one of the things you have listed are what I would call a crisis. They are all annoyances that have to be dealt with.  If you qualify a car crash as a crisis, then yes I can cope with a crisis.

I wouldn't de-bowel myself over a broken string, I'd find some sort of work around involving a spare guitar, or a spare string.

Silent amp?  I'd check that everything is connected, the power is on, and that all the switches are in the correct position. If that fails then bring out the backup.

If you worry about these things happening, prepare for them.  The things you have listed can all mitigated with a bit of planning.  Even you leaky washing machine issue can be sorted by switching it off, dusting off the mop and buckets, and calling the tech.

HTH