When I teach whitewater kayaking, the very first thing students learn to do is wet exit.

That is, tip the boat upside-down, and get out. Without panicing.

Why? Because it’s not IF your kayak tips over in whitewater, it’s only a matter of WHEN.

Similarly, I teach my students to choose their consequences. For my personal definition, that means never paddle a river you aren’t willing to swim.

American Whitewater describes the 6 levels of river difficulty in the following (abbreviated) ways:

• Class I: Fast moving water with riffles and small waves. … Risk to swimmers is slight; self-rescue is easy.
• Class II: Swimmers are seldom injured
• Class III: Rapids with moderate, irregular waves which may be difficult to avoid and which can swamp an open canoe. Complex maneuvers in fast current and good boat control in tight passages or around ledges are often required … Injuries while swimming are rare
• Class IV: Intense, powerful but predictable rapids requiring precise boat handling in turbulent water. Depending on the character of the river, it may feature large, unavoidable waves and holes or constricted passages demanding fast maneuvers under pressure. A fast, reliable eddy turn may be needed to initiate maneuvers, scout rapids, or rest. Rapids may require “must” moves above dangerous hazards. … Risk of injury to swimmers is moderate to high, and water conditions may make self-rescue difficult. Group assistance for rescue is often essential but requires practiced skills. 
• Class V: Extremely long, obstructed, or very violent rapids which expose a paddler to added risk. Drops may contain large, unavoidable waves and holes or steep, congested chutes with complex, demanding routes. … Swims are dangerous, and rescue is often difficult even for experts.
• Class VI: These runs have almost never been attempted and often exemplify the extremes of difficulty, unpredictability and danger. The consequences of errors are very severe and rescue may be impossible.

Personally I have no desire to swim anything above a Class III river. For reference, that might look more like this:

Vs this as a Class V:

There’s been a bit of a stock market melt down the last few days. People who didn’t truly understand what they were getting into, went kayaking in water they weren’t willing to swim in, and now they’re hoping to get out of the water unscathed.

Life, like whitewater kayaking, is an assumed risk sport. Get your education, your training, and practice practice practice, so when reality hits, you don’t panic. And only participate at the level you’re ready to handle. If you can’t stand to see your $2M portfolio abruptly cut to $1M, with no other assets on hand to pay the bills, then I would suggest avoiding that 100% emerging markets small cap value stock portfolio you were eyeing up. Also, the quality of your paddling friends matter. While the first rule of rescues is to create no more victims, you surely want paddling partners along who want the best for you. Choose your financial companions wisely as well, don’t surround yourself with those who will panic, and there should be enough trained participants in your group to offset the quantity of newbies.