Best Course Of Action If Someone Is Having A Meltdown

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What would you say is the best course of action if you know someone is having a meltdown but you are away from them.

Would you text , message , email , phone ?

Would you try and talk it through or just let know you are there when they are ready to talk ?

I would not be receptive to a text while I was having a meltdown. It's either just let it play itself out or restrain me if i am going to smash things and or hurt myself. No one could help me over the phone.

Thanks EzraS

I haven't had a violent meltdown since elementary school, but if I did have one it would be better for the people around me to get away or restrain me. If it's a meltdown that just includes crying and shutting down I would prefer it if people just left me alone.

No idea what I'd do if I saw someone else have a meltdown though. If it was a violent one I'd probably leave and inform someone else, but non violent... depends on what I knew about the person, I guess.

It's likely agression outbrusts I observed in some men in my family were actually meltdowns.
The best thing to do about it was literally nothing. It never ended with physical violence but they sometimes broke things they carefully repaired a bit later. All the agressive words – the best thing to do was nothing. Any reaction lead to escalation. Or, if they really hurt, wait until one calms down and then tenderly ask if he really meant them.
After this, I always heard an apology.

If the person is far away, the only thing I could think of is to instruct the people around them to stay calm and leave them alone in a safe space. Then maybe try to resolve the issue that caused the meltdown (but avoid refering to the meltdown itself - it won't help and likely trigger another one).

thanks Fireblossom & Mags