Terminate Panic

Here's the scenario. I'm sailing with four other people on the Charles (aka "Chuck") River and the vessel we are in is a 25 foot long "Sonar". These boats have a large mainsail and a jib. All seems to be going well until the tiller snaps (which left us unable to steer the boat) and I go into a panic attack. Today, because of what I learned from a support group called "Recovery Inc." I understand clearly what happened next.  One of the "Recovery Inc." slogans is "Terminate panic through objectivity". When the tiller snapped and my panic attack began I immediately thought "I have to get myself together so I can help find a solution to this problem. The worst thing I can do is panic." By looking at the situation objectively I got through the panic attack and was soon contentedly back on dry land thanks to the help of a rescue boat.

I have learned about sailors who were close to being rescued but because they panicked didn't survive. The example that is often given is the thirsty crew whose sailors were impatient and panicked and then drank ocean water. This was a fatal mistake. And a rescue boat was rapidly approaching them but by then it was too late.