Anxiety
It Creeps in when you least expect it.
“To hear the phrase…”our only hope” always makes one anxious because it means that if the only hope doesn’t work, there is nothing left” –Lemony Snicket, The Blank Book
Dealing with anxiety on a daily basis is tough enough without adding into the mix some kind of SHTF scenario. Where now, not only are you worried about feeding your family and taking care of daily issues, there is now the unknown factor to consider.
We all deal with anxiety differently, and a personal issue had even kept me from writing on this blog. Sometimes that anxiety can be not only overwhelming but also even immobilizing. I had planned to write on another topic today but felt maybe I should address this instead.
Matt anxiously gripping the steering wheel on his way home from work. Stared ahead as he agonized over how he would tell his wife he had been laid off. For some time now his work had been lacking due to home issues, he knew it, but now how would he support his family?
Worried about every little issue as he made his way home, he was barely aware of even where he was. He was so busy agonizing over the issues he had not noticed the red light. Before he knew it the bus had hit him, broad side, killing him instantly.
How will his family get by now? What will happen to them?
The point of this scenario is to show how when we’re focused on the things we cannot address or change, how these things can distract us from the real issues we can do something about. In talking to my mother this week, we were discussing the need for proper planning to get us all to our bug out location as well as routes. Our conversation spanned anything from route planning to caches, which was on topic. However, when we began to talk of triggers, we got off on tangents about all the zillion things that could go wrong. Many issues we could not control, things we would not be able to do anything about to ensure our families were safe. My mother and I quickly became overwhelmed with all the possibilities.
Sitting in my own personal issues, I found it hard to even function. I thought I was prepared for things, but the emotional trauma I had sustained recently had me practically paralyzed. So much so that I could barely do even daily activities. If we think we are prepared for this kind of thing, consider the emotional trauma of losing a loved one or watching your home and all your preps burn into a smoldering rubble.
We should all address the facts that if the SHTF some of these things could cause us to lose our way. Sure it is easy to say “I got this or that covered” but can we really handle things when nothing goes as expected? We need to expect the unexpected, and find out how we handle stress in our lives. If we cannot even now handle the stress of a job loss or family issues how will we handle the world caving in around us?
Many people take anxiety medication and while this helps them through trying times in their lives, think about this. Most anxiety medication requires a “wean” time to properly detox from these meds. If they fail to “wean” themselves off of this medication they could have issues, including psychotic episodes.
Some things to consider are Herbal alternatives or getting enough of the medication to sustain a person through a “wean” time. However, I don’t care for the second alternative because if we need these in fairly good times how can we “wean” ourselves in bad times? People these days take a pill for things that can be easily managed with either meditation or herbal alternatives. I highly recommend freeing yourself of the pharmaceutical merry go round if you can.
While we all deal with anxiety in different ways it is important to remember this factor in our preparations. A few things we might add to our preps is comfort items to alleviate the stresses of all that is going on around us. One of the first books I read that really had an impact on my thoughts on prepping is
The classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the world.
In this book the protagonist Randy Bragg takes some time to put away a box of comfort items. Later in the book this proves to be a nice relief from the day to day struggle to survive.
Jericho (Can be seen on Netflix)
Another good example is in the short lived television show. The residents of this small town of America head for “Mary’s Tavern”. Mary, the proprietor, keeps her tavern running with a generator and distilled spirits she makes herself. But in all this, it is a gathering place, a sense of normalcy that we all need.
In many of the works of fiction I have either watched or read there seems to always be this tie to a world gone by. The tie that brings people together or alleviates, even for a time, the overwhelming anxiety.
Following I have a list of very good books on herbal medicine. Each of us should add some good reference books as part of our survival library. Having knowledge can sometimes be so much more valuable than things. Things can be stolen, lost or destroyed, but the knowledge is invaluable. Knowledge even makes you an asset to a group who may not know how to do or fix things. Consider your survival library as your cornerstone of prepping.
Couple of books geared toward Anxiety
• Natural Remedies for stress and anxiety by Amanda Moore
• Natural Remedies for Anxiety by Michelle ross
Some other Natural Remedies books I have that I have found much information in
• Natural Remedies and Beyond by Sarah Brooks
• Natural Healing Wisdom and Know How compiled by Amy Rost
No Survival Library is complete without
• Where There is no Doctor
• Where there is no Dentist
Both put out by the Hesperian Health Guides, their site has many different books available for download.
*Now people say, “How can we carry these books if need be?” Many if not most of my books are E-books. I have a tablet full of them aka my survival tablet, but also they are stored on an additional micro SD card. This is easily kept safe as would be an external hard drive or USB stick. I use them regularly and continue to learn as I do.
Ultimately we all need to find a way to cope with the Anxiety of life, but if we are easily discouraged in good times how can we truly be prepared when tough times come?
