Great changes in man can be wrought by crisis—once that crisis can be recognized and understood.
—Norman Cousins
Crisis is everywhere. In the newspapers， on television； we hear it in the streets. Just the mere mention of “the economic crisis” can get people shaking in their boots. However， these are small glitches， soon solved by society and governments. But what about the times that your crisis is personal， not easily swept away？ In this month’s issue of Crazy English Reader we’ll be looking at mental crisis， and the different ways it can manifest.
Who are we？ How do we define ourselves？ Most have experienced a self-identity crisis at some point， and Mary Terszak is no different. In Having Fair Skin， she addresses the complexities of growing up as a white-Aborigine in Australia—and of dealing with the psychological problems arising from that. Left alone and uncared for， psychological crises can have drastic and terrible results. Teen Suicides in India discusses one of the worst case scenarios： the loss of a young life， and the fact that， in most cases， it could have been avoided.
But what about the times that it’s unavoidable？ Emotional crisis can hit at anytime， but it can hit especially hard when we start to lose pride in ourselves. Laura A. Munson’s personal anecdote， Those Aren’t Fighting Words， Dear， demonstrates how to deal with a loved one who is experiencing a mid-life， emotional crisis.
Finally， we take a look at a darker kind of crisis—the morality crisis. The Dregs of a Deadly Scandal takes us back to 1986， Italy， when the country’s wine was put under international scrutiny due to the unethical actions of a small number of vintners. And this is only an example； we are beginning to see more of these morality crises worldwide， plunging us， more often than not， into crises of trust.