Mental Prep

How are you preparing yourself mentally for sitX?

I'll leave it as vague as that and see where the discussion goes. Let me know if you want more clarification as to my thoughts on the subject.

Mental prep will be huge.

I've thought many times about how the folks around us will fare if/when SHTF.

Will we be attacked for food? Will friends turn against us for our preps or actions? Will some of the people we know give in to the govt for a handout?

I see that the .gov is starting to prepare people for the inevitable 'depressive' thoughts.

For mental prep, you must go back to the oldest relation in the history our planet. There are only two things that you must know, and they are as simple as they are important.

1. You are the predator
2. They are prey

If you allow yourself to be cowed into the belief that you are their prey, then you have given them the advantage. If you believe resistance is futile, then you have been defeated before you so much as stand from your seat. If you consider your oppressors, not as a looming entity, but individuals who are prone to the same fears and trepidations as those they victimize, they become far less powerful. Even less so if you are willing to use those fears against them.

I study very closely the mainstream media for trends such as spreading droughts, escellating conflicts, economic problems etc I then generally debate them with my peers on forums like this trying to get an international feel to the threat assessment. From those assesments and sit reps I work out a response for my family.

I also now tune into various news feeds and media reports on whatever threat I an currently watching. RSS feeds, google alerts etc.

This is normally supplimented by reading both Fictional and Factual books on subjects similar to the one currently concerning me.

IE currently I am reading about the Crash of 29 and how it affected the western nations, and how individuals responded in order to survive. then its supplimented in this case by reading ( again) Patriots by James Wesley Rawles whos book gives a well thought out fictional response to an economic melt down.


I then vary and adapt my plans accordingly.

NR

Yes I am mental.... Oh, sorry I thought it was a question.

On a more serious note. Just over a month ago I think I was over tuned mentally for a sit-x. Symptoms included looking forward to a sit-x, and bugging out. I have since come to my senses.

Just worth reminding all my friends here that, one must stay grounded as well as prepared!

Other than learning as much as you can, I don't know how you would mentaly prep yourself. I can imagine, but until i'm in a situation I don't truly know how I would react. Knowledge is the best prep you can make.

Spiritowl

Originally posted by Northern Raider


IE currently I am reading about the Crash of 29 and how it affected the western nations, and how individuals responded in order to survive. then its supplimented in this case by reading ( again) Patriots by James Wesley Rawles whos book gives a well thought out fictional response to an economic melt down.
NR

Now why would you be reading up on the 29 crash and how it affected people? Nothing like that could possibly happen again.

OP. About being mentally prepared for sit-x. Either you are, or youre not. Some people live their lives in fantasy land. Everything is happiness and roses. They go to work, to soccer practice, watch Leno, take their two week vacation and continue going through the motions until they die. They never think any thing terrible will happen, and therefore they can not prepare in any fashion, mentally or otherwise. Simply beyond them.

For the others, being mentally prepared isnt something that needs to be addressed, its part of who we are. If you are smart enough to stock water and food and read to plan for what could be, you are mentally training yourself without even knowing it. Always asking yourself the question, "what if" now, prepares your mind to continue to ask it in a sit-x.

Should it all come apart, those who prepared physically now will have the proper mindset to do very well no matter the situation they are presented with. Those who live in wonderland will have some serious problems, mental and otherwise.

I think what's most important to be mentally prepared is to be right with your soul - if the plan is to depopulate, then what we're really talking about is transitioning, right? Perhaps that's what we need to be at peace with. Hope for the best but plan for the worst.

And as a second portion to this, what if there really is technology that can prevent our soul essence from leaving as has been suggested by a few writers/researchers/experiencers, etc. ?

Originally posted by Spiritowl
Other than learning as much as you can, I don't know how you would mentaly prep yourself. I can imagine, but until i'm in a situation I don't truly know how I would react. Knowledge is the best prep you can make.

Spiritowl

Its how you live your day to day life decides how you will react to a crisis, in the last five years I have been stuck twice on public transport underground, once was a London to Edinburgh train that broke down in the tunnel just outside KX station, The other was on the London Underground. Both vehicles were pluged into darkness, cell phones did not work and emergenct lighting either failed or was so dim as to be useless.

Some folks just sat quietly, others tried and tried and tried to use their cell phones and internet connections, some simply got pannicy straight away. And a few like me produced torches and lightsticks from their pockets and were not troubled at all, If piush came to shove i could have used my spring loaded centre punch to break the train window and climb out. Its amazing to see just how quickly people get pannicked and hostile in a small emergency.

A ridiculously minor incident occurred about an hour ago as I walked down my street. Two young lads were walking a small dog and two rather larger ones burst out from under a door and decided to have a "who has the loudest bark" contest.

The lad, obviously worried, said, "I think they're going to kill my dog, please help."

This request was aimed at myself and another man, right next to me, who was with his (either 3 or 4) very young child.

As I looked at him he seemed ready to act, as was I. Calmly I instructed the guy to stay with his young 'un and dropped my gear next to them. I walked across to the lad and told him that everything would be okay and just stay close.

My biggest concern was a) the small child being left unattended b) the lad panicking, diving in and exacerbating the situation. Ultimately the dogs broke into a who has the smelliest bum contest and ran off for a quick play before the neighbour came out to get his dogs in. The kids were able to retrieve their pet and continue on their way.

Am I giving myself a pat on the back? Yes I am. It was only really after the event I had a chance to analyse my actions, and perhaps had it turned nasty I might now be in A&E waiting for a tetanus booster. Point is calm and rational won through. For all the fear and second-guessing I subject myself to, this was a tick in the "plus" column.

Originally posted by Nirgal
A ridiculously minor incident occurred about an hour ago as I walked down my street. Two young lads were walking a small dog and two rather larger ones burst out from under a door and decided to have a "who has the loudest bark" contest.

The lad, obviously worried, said, "I think they're going to kill my dog, please help."

This request was aimed at myself and another man, right next to me, who was with his (either 3 or 4) very young child.

As I looked at him he seemed ready to act, as was I. Calmly I instructed the guy to stay with his young 'un and dropped my gear next to them. I walked across to the lad and told him that everything would be okay and just stay close.

My biggest concern was a) the small child being left unattended b) the lad panicking, diving in and exacerbating the situation. Ultimately the dogs broke into a who has the smelliest bum contest and ran off for a quick play before the neighbour came out to get his dogs in. The kids were able to retrieve their pet and continue on their way.

Am I giving myself a pat on the back? Yes I am. It was only really after the event I had a chance to analyse my actions, and perhaps had it turned nasty I might now be in A&E waiting for a tetanus booster. Point is calm and rational won through. For all the fear and second-guessing I subject myself to, this was a tick in the "plus" column.

Good one a PMA is always advantagous in a situation like that, I would have wellied the dogs as hard as I could

It didn't need to come to that. There were two of them and one of the other. It was their territory and their dominance. The smaller hound seemed happy to oblige as long as his master was not in danger. By keeping him calm and fairly still among the "melee" it seemed obvious the situation would resolve itself.

Just don't call me Barbara Woodhouse.

Originally posted by Nirgal
It didn't need to come to that. There were two of them and one of the other. It was their territory and their dominance. The smaller hound seemed happy to oblige as long as his master was not in danger. By keeping him calm and fairly still among the "melee" it seemed obvious the situation would resolve itself.

Just don't call me Barbara Woodhouse.

Should have had our new mutt with you, Max the Brussels Terrier ( half Border, half Jack Russel =Brussel) He would have seen them off, it its smaller than a Spaniel he would hump it to death, larger and he would kill it by sticking in its throat

My thoughts on mental prep for sitX:

I am a daydreamer by nature, which denotes that I am prone to a lack of focus. However, the scenarios I daydream about are often "what would I do" in a situation.

When those in the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement go into training, part of what they do is endless repitition. Just like my TKD classes, when you practice something enough, it becomes instinct. In thinking of my "what if" scenarios, I train myself toward either fight or flight in any given situation.

I agree that a great deal of it all is "hardwired" into who we are as individuals. We are either the kind of person who could survive, or the kind of person who could not. Some of it is just "dumb luck". However, if it was all personality and luck, a decent gambler with a pretty smile could cakewalk his way through the Apocalypse.

I was never any good at poker, and I have bad teeth. That is where mentally preparing myself comes into play. I have seen dead bodies, but apart from Hollywood's creations, I've never seen one that's dismembered. I've experienced the smells of decay and the sickness that can ensue from that, and have trained myself to restrain my gag reflex. I once considered a career as a medical examiner, so I am used to indulging in the graphic and macabre in order to learn something. I feel that will help me when societal order goes AWOL and everyone around me is leaning on the panic button because of the chaos and carnage.

In arriving at my current mindset, I also considered a career as a sniper. One of things I wanted to do with my life when I was a teenager was to be a Navy SEAL sniper, which has a reputation (regardless of fact or fiction) for being one of the toughest jobs in the world. To that end, in my own juvenile way, I started to increase my stamina against cold. I increased the length of time I can hold my breath underwater. I started to see pain as something that can be handled in momentary stages, instead of as an entire event. One specific example: I started doing situps in my bath tub, with the showerhead aimed directly at my face and turned on full blast, the water as cold as I could get it. Then I would go out and run until I was dog-tired in the rain or snow, sopping wet and breathing hard. Of course, I suffered injury, but I increased my tolerance for discomfort and pain.

I also learned patience. I can stay immobilized in uncomfortable positions for hours. I learned the art of surviving sleep depravation. I learned not to rely on nicotine, caffeine, or other stimulants to keep myself awake and going. I learned to push through the pain of my burning muscles on twenty-mile hikes.

In short, I am mentally prepared to stay alive and out of sight. I can deal with being alone without going crazy (ala Tom Hanks' "Castaway"). Personal relationships are near and dear to me now, but I can sever those if necessary and still come out on the other side as a functional human being.

Those are the sort of things I'm doing to mentally prepare myself.

Regards,

Sol

Mental prep!!

I look at the day to day life and how people are...visualise and imagine the worst scenario and feel it ..how you will I react and what will you do..as scary as it may be..doing that you have already mentally prepared yourself....and dong that you have already made the step to dealing with a situation...all it takes is the guts, imagination to look at the worst scenarios..and hopefully when a time comes you don't freeze ..and just react!!..panic and the unfamiliar events waste very precious time!!

Thats my opinion anyway!!

Oh !! and Raider read a lot of your posts..you have a lot of common sense and if or when the SHTF...if we get that far to the borders..then your one of the few I wouldn't mind bumping into!!..so far on this forum you seem alright !