Mental Illness--how the hell do they expect to make it? (Anxiety, Rage, Bi-polar, Ect)

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


Lets just hope between now and then they happen upon a NEW friend who will unconditionally love them and be their HERO and SAVIOR.

Love and harmony
Whateva

Mental Illness--how the hell do they expect to make it? (Anxiety, Rage, Bi-polar, Ect

They won't make it. It's just that simple.

In a world melt down extended survival situation, it will be survival of the fittest. Those with diseases, including mental health issues, will not last. Those of us with chronic illness (I have autoimmune) will die off, leaving the human herd stronger.

I have a pretty long psychiatric diagnosis that includes both Bipolar and PTSD ( Anxiety ). As to how I might make it in any worst case scenario? The same way anybody else would. In fact, thanks to my PTSD, I actually have an edge. Sure.. I have panic issues when life is fine, which sucks. But this has a side effect - I don't panic when I actually should. When emergencies happen, I am calm, rational, and in control.

Pigeon holing mental illness into any preconceived notions doesn't work. If you were to meet me, even befriend me, you'd likely never ever get a glimpse of my issues. You'd only know about my problems if I chose to discuss them with you. I generally do not do so in real life. Only my most intimate and closest of relations know. My behavior, socially, has never been very indicative of severe problems. There are a couple of indicators that a professional might recognize. But not the average person. It is rare that anybody but me is exposed to the effects of my illness and most people who are exposed to momentary losses of control - anxiety attacks for example - simply write it off as something just a hair past normal.

FTR I do take medication, but nothing extreme. Just a very mild anti-depressant and an anti- anxiety agent. The anxiety medication only as needed - not daily or regularly. So I could easily survive without meds.

That's the truth of mental illness for the vast majority of people who suffer with it. There are more extreme forms of psychosis that probably would make survival in any uncontrolled world difficult or impossible - but those illnesses are much more profound and severe than just Bipolar or anxiety.

People like me? We'll do just fine. So, if you daydream of a post apocalyptic dystopian paradise, free from the fear of crazy people... Think again!

~Heff

Originally posted by Socrato
I understand exactly what you are talking about. Someone closest to me is very frail mentally and I have been fighting to keep her off meds for as long as we have been together. I'm afraid she would go utterly suicidal like the wife in the movie The Road if society collapsed... but then again, who wouldn't?

My only hope is the fact that most of these mental illnesses are "diseases of society" so to speak so maybe when TSHTF these folks will suddenly come into their element and be alive like never before.

Those people will come into their element, including myself having bipolar. Paranioa is associated with some of the illnesses and would be a very helpful weapon in a SHTF scenario. Hows the saying go "Paranioa is your best friend"........

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Mental Illness--how the hell do they expect to make it? (Anxiety, Rage, Bi-polar, Ect

They won't make it. It's just that simple.

In a world melt down extended survival situation, it will be survival of the fittest. Those with diseases, including mental health issues, will not last. Those of us with chronic illness (I have autoimmune) will die off, leaving the human herd stronger.

We will make it Don't be deceived by the label. Some mentally impaired people are more awake than so called common people.. You just don't realise it.

Some of these people will make it and some will not, just like everybody else. In some cases mental disorders may work in their favor as some here have stated. It may give others the kick in the pants they need to get out of their own minds and get into the real world.

Unless they have an actual chemical imbalance a lot of anxiety and depression stems from the person being too wrapped up in their own thoughts. When forced into a survive or die situation they could be forced to focus on the very act of survival rather than the things that are causing their depression or anxiety. The human will to survive is a strong enough instinct that it can override other conditions,

As far as availability of medications everyone should have a plan in place that allows them to taper off of their meds, because as someone already said going cold turkey could be a matter of life and death in itself. People need to discuss this with their physicians just in case. My husband is not on any "mental" meds, but takes seizure meds, We discussed this with his neurologist and came up with an emergency plan to safely taper off his meds if it were to become necessary.

People with different levels of Autism might be better off than some people without it. My experience with people I know with mild Autism has shown me they don't panic as easily as a lot of people do in emergencies because most don't immediately recognize the dire implications. This could be a blessing in disguise. They may need help to survive, but then we will ALL need to help each other to suvive.

Just my two cents worth. Take it for what you will.

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


Well, first off, talking to someone with severe anxiety about the world ending would be a very bad thing to do, regardless of whether you think it's important or not. It's not something that's happening right now, and therefore there's no need to add to their already existing worries.

A lot of people don't think about these things, even without mental health issues, because it gives them a headache as it is. If you're prepared, good for you, but how do you know your preparation is enough anyway? How do you know you've prepared in the right way? What if it's not just society collapsing but an asteroid? Or a virus that we can do nothing about? You can never prepare enough for every eventuality.

Me, I don't bother. I'm type I diabetic. Have been since I was 9 years old. I'm probably gonna die young from a complaint related to my condition anyway - kidneys, heart, eyes, nerves, blood vessels, amputation. I have all of this to look forward to. Worse, I'm doing a medical degree. So I'm aware of every single thing that could happen to me to kill me off. In a SHTF situation I'd die anyway. I'd run out of medication. Simple as that really. And I can't wean myself off it at all because I have no imbalances or anything like that. My body doesn't work right. I need stuff to fix it. Without that stuff, I'd last a while, but I'd keel over eventually. And I've been through ketoacidosis once. I'd rather avoid it for the rest of my life, if at all possible.

When you live with things like this, you learn to live with the issues that come with them. The people you refer to will probably be a lot stronger than you could ever credit them for. Humanity has a strange way of fixing things in a life or death situation. If not, then, not to be callous, but like me, and like most of the people in this world, they won't make it. But everyone's gonna die in the end regardless.

I get by on a day to day basis, I pride myself on not planning ahead, and I find it makes my life a lot easier. It's actually kinda nice to be aware of your own mortality. Me and my boyfriend occasionally what if stuff like this and whereas he's all "we'll get you this, we'll get you that", I'm just like "meh, I'll die." It's not that big a deal at the end of the day.

in a shtf scenario, nature will do a much needed sweeping of our gene pool. may not be the answer you're hoping to hear, but at least I'm being real with ya. also: some of the currently labeled "disorders" will be seen to be advantageous under drastically different environmental circumstances. many of the "normal" people will find their selves not making it as well.

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


I don't know about Bipolar and Ausburgers syndrome, but I do know about anxiety and panic attacks, which I have fully recovered from without using any meds for it.

I'll make this short from my experience:

1. Anxiety is all about believing one's imagination, none of the fears are real and what makes it feel as it is real is the "benefit of the doubt", which anxiety derives from.
2. Panic attacks do not last for long, and if one is brave enough to face the horror of the panic attack long enough, he soon realize it is false, and then reality takes over and his mind turns a page to other things that requires the attention.
3. One of the greatest virtues of any organism, is the ability to adapt and transform according to the external environment. You can call me an optimist, truth is that i'm not, but I believe that in a SHTF situation, it takes mental issues to extreme height at first, and after some habituation it slowly declines. People perpetuate mental issues in our society because they can choose whether to confront them or not, in a SHTF, you can not choose, you confront. And that is the end of the small, relatively minor problems created by the mind and imagination.

Everyone who really stared at his/her anxiety, knows that it is false. Under the light of consciousness, the darkness fades.

Originally posted by TDawgRex
reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX

 

They'll make it if you are there for them. But in the event of power outages, those meds will disappear quickly possibly causing them to be a threat to you over time.

In a true SHTF/TEOTWAWKI event, pretty much any one who depends upon meds or constant medical attention will die off pretty quickly.

I'm not being cold, just honest...and I don't like it either.

I agree, keep 0ne in the chamber at all times ready to sh00t,
if you are g0ing to assume responsibility for them.
F0r y0ur sake and y0ur families might be better to not keep them ar0und.

reply to post by sirnukeem

Mental Disorders in America

Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.1 When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people.2 Even though mental disorders are widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion — about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 — who suffer from a serious mental illness.1 In addition, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada.3 Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. Nearly half (45 percent) of those with any mental disorder meet criteria for 2 or more disorders, with severity strongly related to comorbidity.

Source

You're likely to need more than one bullet. And moreover, odds are that somebody you care about probably falls into that 1 out of 4 thing... so there's that to consider.

Oh... and that's if you don't end up being that one in four ( many mental health issues have late onsets ).

I guess my point is that most mentally ill people are not dangerous. A very small percentage are violent or dangerous to others. The vast majority of mental health issues are depression or anxiety related - and both of these problems tend to be internalized and not externalized. These people are more likely to turn a gun on themselves than on othes.

Something to consider...

~Heff

Originally posted by Hefficide
reply to post by sirnukeem

 

You're likely to need more than one bullet. And moreover, odds are that somebody you care about probably falls into that 1 out of 4 thing... so there's that to consider.

I guess my point is that most mentally ill people are not dangerous. A very small percentage are violent or dangerous to others. The vast majority of mental health issues are depression or anxiety related - and both of these problems tend to be internalized and not externalized. These people are more likely to turn a gun on themselves than on othes.

Something to consider...

~Heff

Another thing to consider is that most people that go through a TEOTWAWKI event will be suffering depression or anxiety. That 1 in 4 stat will likely jump into the 90's to 100.

And yep, there will probably be a lot of suicides as well.

Maybe the ones who show no outward signs of stress or see the event as a chance to get ahead, would be the ones to keep a eye on.

reply to post by Parksie

The positive group are the ADD-ADHD these people have endless energy, then there's the Intermittent explosive type and maybe a few classes of psychopath's will benefit in a positive way from this.

I am certain this is unfortunately true, for every time there was a global calamity, such as the biblical flood and the ice age. And today the psychopaths are in power over the matrix-of-control, but guys; There might not be a physical shtf for good people. Maybe this time, the shtf will be for the psychopaths. I have a strong "feeling" this is so. Lets all have that feeling, and maybe we can affect the Force.

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX

You just discovered natural selection. Grats!!!

There're two forms of intelligence producing phenomena:
1) Natural-selection determination
2) Individual-selection determination

In the first case, various universal laws work to either kill you or stop you from reproducing on the one hand, and on the other, they become the affirmation that you're a worthy specimen.

In the second case, the individual determines based on the outcomes of their actions what works and what doesn't. The individual's judgment is obviously subjective, but it's sufficient.

Both forms of intelligence creation are needed to facilitate evolution as we know it.

So those who cannot cope well enough in this world will be eliminated eventually by the first case - the brute force form of intelligence. It's a sliding gradient whether it happens to any particular person. The longer the defect or bad gene or bad choice or bad habit lingers, the greater the chance it will be checked and eliminated by universal law (a.k.a. natural-selection). The same can be said about rolling ten 6's one after the other on a 6-sided dice as opposed to rolling a couple. The odds increasingly work against you the greater the number you rely on to survive. It's the same (pitiful) circumstance if you live in an earthquake-prone region of the planet. If you stick around long enough, probability (a.k.a. natural-selection; universal laws) will produce an earthquake. Knowing these universal laws increases our survivability, but the catch is that our universe is so expansive and complex and chance-ridden that you won't know them all nor will you defy them all. If we already knew everything then there'd be nothing more to learn, right? Intelligence is learning. But even if we knew everything, even the best choices can cause us to die since probability is integral to the inner workings of our universe. While this may not lead to extinction, it does ensure we'll never live forever.

PS: I could argue group-selection determination exists as well. So there might be more than two forms of intelligence producing mechanisms. The reason I make a distinction at all - in this post - is because I presume universal law is not sentient; it operates on rules and probability. We're, to the contrary, sentient. Discriminating between individual and group-based selection determination is just a helpful reminder that two or more brains can be better than one (ex: the nation-state).

Originally posted by Hefficide
I guess my point is that most mentally ill people are not dangerous. A very small percentage are violent or dangerous to others.

~Heff

I can r0ll with that, it WAS the OPS friend, I was w0rried ab0ut.

"But I have a friend who has extreme bi-polar issues. He has serious problems with self mutilation, and attacking others on occasion."


This guy acc0rding t0 0PS 0mission is part type 0f the danger0us and vi0lent percentage. Ya Dig>?

It is in the best interest 0f 0p t0 dr0p this guy n0w bef0re SHTF because after, might
have t0 dr0p him with a bullet, right after the wife and daughter were vi0lently raped is t00 late.

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


to be honest as a bi polar person i think how my brain is wired will act as an advantage not a hindrance and that those with SEVERE dissabilities will either be used as Muscle(downs aspergers etc) think master blaster or for doing things that most "normals" dont have the stomach for,not to mention any one that gets ahold of a savant with Eidetic memory for archivial purposes.

im in a prepping group in my area that numbers about 40-50 people depending on season and they have no problem with my mental illness and infact see it as an attribute then a weakness (need less sleep can go days with out as much food as normals) and to be blunt my brain works differently then alot of other people so i can come up with ideas that they would not think of and i personaly feel that i would be able to do things that their morals would not let them do or do as easy(we take more risks) as some one who is "broken" in societies eyes


en.wikipedia.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

www.tbhsonline.com...

mental illness is not the death sentence that socieity likes to talk about and dispite all the sitgma we get as people with mental illness we are not useless and we are often far more funtional then society would have you belive and contrary to popular belife you can live a long and happy life with mental illness it just has a few more bumps in the road then what normal people would do,as well as the fact that on most days we deal with more "chaos" then the average person so i think we will adapt better to post shtf then alot of other people,not to mention the psycological aspect and fear that can come from fighting some one who is "crazy" is definatly a force modifier(i have avoided physical confrontations and even outright butt kickings just by acting like a nut case because NO ONE wants to fight crazy)

money.cnn.com...

(FORTUNE Small Business) -- In both my clinical and consulting work, I see a lot of the "double whammy": when people contending with the symptoms of a problem also suffer from the stigma attached to having it. Some, though, fashion lives and careers that turn a potential liability - a mental illness - into a core element of their professional success. "Tom Foyer" (a pseudonym) is the president of an 18-person disaster recovery company he founded in 1999. He has ADHD - attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder - a condition finally diagnosed four years ago, when Foyer was in his mid-'30s. All his life Foyer had trouble focusing: he describes himself as "fidgety," with "tons of nervous energy." Foyer hovered near the bottom of his class through high school and shook, rattled, and rolled his way into young adulthood, living out the textbook symptoms of inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. As far as he knew, this was just who he was.

madpridect.wordpress.com...

www.mhe-sme.org...

if i were to point out one weakness that those with disability often have compared to alot of others is a dependence on pills that balance their mood which is why i take no medication for my illness and instead have spent the last 4 years of my life mastering my bi polar disorder and learning to control its symptoms so that in the event of a natural disaster or colapse i will not be chemically dependent on medications that i will not be able to get post shtf (this policy does not work for every one and i ask that those taking pills talk to their drs before any changes in medication as i am no longer a mental health professional and my advice should not be taken as such)that is what i feel will take out alot of "my people" as opposed to us not being able to "hack it" so to speak. just my opinion on the matter

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX

Some of us will try to survive, as we do every day !

Darwin. Survival of the fittest.

I'm prepared.

There are many good comments - nice to read !

Would you believe me if i were to tell you these people are ahead of you in SPACE-TIME.

You will behave more like them when the veil is lifted and the REAL reality comes into view.

We will help talk you down once it comes upon you. Expect to be freaking out and trippin balls soon and do not be afraid. We aren't going to treat you like you treated us.

Suffering from home-bound afflictions like panic disorder, depression, and agoraphobia has been hell for me. I overcame a lot of it on my own and have got away from the meds 5 years ago. I drink a few beers to cope and maybe a benzo here and there very rarely. I think a lot of us will make it just fine. We have been battling for years and to be honest I cope well under stress. It is normal everyday things that I wig about.. Like sitting down trying to relax and watch a movie.

I worry about those that have to have meds.. Heart patients, diabetics, asthma, etc. But many "mentally ill" can and probably will thrive under a shtf situation. I think a lot of so called "normal" people are going to be the ones to freak out and maybe become the dangerous crowd. They have had it cozy all their lives, and will lose it Im afraid. Us crazies have been surviving and battling for years and as far as myself and being dangerous.. I could never hurt someone to have what I need.. I would be way more likely if left with no other option but to take from others, I would likely just end myself.

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


As a person with a mental health diagnosis I do appreciate your concern. When SHTF, yes, many with severe illnesses will not make it and that is sad. We can always do our best to help those neighbors out when the time comes, at least as best we can. I have a lot of experience in wilderness survival and am fairly capable of taking care of most matters on my own, but I too worry about those who may be worse off. Good post, OP.

~LR