COPING THROUGH CRISIS: GO BACK TO 1
Go Back to 1:
Take a moment, recenter, and reset. Amid this firestorm of chaos, being the one calm, steady soul can keep the entire ship from sinking…or at least keep it afloat until the next tsunami.
Let’s all cancel our subscription to LA 2025 and get a refund. For those of us in the media, film, and TV industries, 2025 marked the start of year 2 or 3 of the metaphorical dumpster fire that’s left literally thousands of career professionals long term underemployed or unemployed. The Mediapocalypse has ripped apart our lives – especially here in LA.
Now Los Angeles is literally burning to the ground. As of January 11, 2025, the LA area has burned a staggering 36,685 acres (roughly 57 square miles). For context:
· Manhattan is about 23 square miles; the burned area is more than twice the size of Manhattan.
· San Francisco covers approximately 49 square miles; the area affected by the fires is larger than the entire city.
· Boston spans about 48 square miles; the burned area about 19% larger than Boston.
Reports are conflicting but somewhere between 150,000 - 180,000 people have had to evacuate. Friends and colleagues of mine—who incidentally, are not wealthy celebrities with four other homes—have lost everything. It's heartbreaking.
Like many of you, the Producer in me was already always hypervigilant. Now I have plans and back up plans should I need to evacuate. I barely sleep, I just rest my eyes with “one ear open” to the chime of a possible evacuation alert… that may turn out to be a false alarm. Are you exhausted? I’m exhausted. Unfortunately, nothing is worse for us hypervigilant, Type A production types than to face a crisis over which we have little to no control.
I’m humbled by how little I feel like I’ve got to offer here but for what it’s worth here’s my thoughts and guidance:
Let's do what we do best and Go Back to 1: Pause, center yourself, and reset.
Maintaining calm keeps your mind clear to act and make good decisions for your and your loved ones. Calm is also contagious! The one steady person in a crisis an anchor of support that brings calm and comfort to others.
Got 60 seconds? Grab your headphones, sit back, and really listen as you (re)watch the soothing 60 SECOND VIDEO.
May it bring some measure or comfort and calm.
Bookmark the video. Share it. Use it like a daily affirmation, meditation, or even a mini-break. I’m going for a soothing ASMR effect here — let me know in the comments if it works for you!
Take a deeper dive into the Action Steps you can take to Go Back to 1 during a crisis:
(Re)watch a 1 Minute video to chill out and get more tips here.
Coping with Crisis: The Dark Side of the News and Doomscrolling Strikes Back! here
Coping With Crisis: Resist the Dark Side of News and Doomscrolling here.
Want to explore 1:1 Confidential, Trauma informed Coaching from a seasoned TV Executive?
Please share your own tips in the comments too. After all, we’re in this together!
For those of you in film/tv who have been affected by the LA fires and are looking for entertainment industry disaster relief resources, the Producer’s Guild has released a list from the Entertainment Community Fund.
#LASTRONG
