There are moments when life continues on the outside, but on the inside you feel like the ground is slipping away beneath your feet. Something happens that shakes you. A rupture, a decision that slips from your grasp, a loss you did not see coming.
And suddenly, a second world emerges within you:
Thoughts that take on a life of their own.
Emotions that move faster than any explanation.
Scenarios that overwhelm you before they even become reality.
You are still functioning. You still show up. You keep going. But inside, a sentence begins to take shape, one that is hard to say out loud: “How do I hold myself together when my inner world is falling apart?”
That is where what we call a crisis begins. Not in the event itself, but in the upheaval it triggers within you.
1. When the Crisis Arises Within, Not From the Outside
There are external triggers, yes. But the real storm begins in the mind:
- Racing thoughts.
- Worst-case scenarios that grow bigger than reality.
- Images you cannot stop.
- Meanings you read into everything.
- Judgments that make everything feel even tighter.
It is not “just stress.” It is the loss of inner order.
“Stress rarely arises from what happens. It comes from what we make of it within ourselves.”
That does not mean the situation is easy. On the contrary.
It means:
You are not crazy.
You are not “too sensitive.”
You are not weak.
You are a human being whose inner system is trying to cope with something larger than its previous patterns.
2. The Invisible Mechanism: Why Crises Begin in the Mind
Prof. Dr. Dirk Wolff describes it like this: Crises are rarely the event itself. They are the world that forms inside you afterward. Your mind does not work in facts; it works in possibilities, risks, and images.
The subconscious seeks orientation. The psyche seeks stability. And what emerges can sometimes feel like its own universe:
- Scenarios you cannot stop.
- Interpretations that take hold.
- Thought loops that keep you awake.
- Emotions that move faster than your understanding.
“Crises begin in the mind because our thinking works in scenarios, not in facts.”
Within you, a version of the future emerges that overwhelms you. And this inner world suddenly shapes your feelings, your actions, your breathing. The crisis is not the event itself. It is the moment when you lose connection with your inner baseline.
3. The Way Back: Not to Rush, but to Become Aware
In such moments, we often try one thing: close our eyes and hit the gas. Act. Solve. Organize. Speed up.
But the phrase Dirk shares in the “Unterm Strich” podcast changes everything:
“Go slow when you are in a hurry.”
Not as a cliché, but as a survival strategy. Slowing down means:
- Sorting the images instead of fighting them.
- Finding reality again.
- Making a decision that is not born of fear.
- Feeling your body before you change anything.
- Being able to distinguish an inner “yes” from a “no” again.
“You regain your ability to take action when you stop following the crisis in your mind and follow the reality in front of you instead.”
The ability to take action is not the opposite of fear. It is the opposite of powerlessness. And powerlessness begins where your thoughts become stronger than your perception.
When you interrupt – not the crisis, but the flow of thoughts – a space opens up where you can make decisions again.
4. What Really Helps You in Moments of Upheaval
You don’t need an immediate “get back to functioning.”
You don’t need positive thinking.
You don’t need a new goal.
You need an anchor.
(1) Name your inner world before reacting to the outside.
“I am afraid.”
“I am losing my bearings.”
“My mind is making me restless.”
This is not a confession of weakness. It is the moment when you reconnect with yourself.
(2) Hold the distinction: What is real and what is imagination?
Not everything you feel is wrong. But not everything you think is true. This distinction is a key.
(3) Regain your pace
Slowing down is not a loss. It is the return of your ability to take action. At your speed. In your order. In your truth.
Unterm Strich
Crises do not begin where life gets difficult. They begin where you lose your inner footing. But it is precisely there that something else can also begin: clarity, awareness, and the ability to act again.
Not because the crisis is gone, but because you have returned – to yourself.
In Episode 2 of “Unterm Strich,” persolog CEO Debora Karsch talks with Dirk Wolff about how inner crises arise, what worst-case scenarios do to us, why calmness takes more courage than speed, and how to regain your ability to act in difficult times.
It’s a conversation that doesn’t sugarcoat. It explains. It grounds. And it gives you back something that is so easily lost in crises: your connection to your own core.
Be sure to listen to the episode if you find yourself reflected in these lines.
