On Being Overwhelmed

(Image by Stephen Poff.       usmansheikh.com)

 

    I cannot tell you how many people who are interested in preparedness have told me that they are totally overwhelmed lately.  They cite many reasons for this.   Many are financially challenged.  They know they need to prepare for inflation and for natural disasters, but they lack the funds to prepare as they might wish.  Others speak of being overwhelmed by the barrage of concerning financial news on television and radio.  I am afraid I may not have helped much, in that regard, with an entire blog series examining the possibility of an American financial collapse. Others complain about being stressed over having inadequate storage to store supplies they know they need for their children and extended families.  Others are sick and tired of rotating stock.

        Sadly, the shorter of money you are, the more important it is to prepare adequately for natural disasters and for inflation. Imagine how much better things in New Orleans post Katrina would have been if families who were short of money stocked even a few dollars worth of bottled water and six packs of ginger ale, from The Dollar Tree ?   Wal-Mart Pharmacies also have a section with peroxide, alcohol, sanitary napkins, and other supplies in a section for eighty-eight cents each   It takes some planning but those on fixed incomes, can also put together first forty eight hour kits, then 72 hours kits, and then longer term emergency supplies.   Sometimes the people who are financially challenged and thought out their preparedness needs better than the rest of us.  Also, a lot of preparedness is about preparedness education.  It is not always necessary to actually buy the books on our look listing, or on anyone elses.  Sometimes, borrowing them from the library and reading them and returning them is the best strategy, and costs little or nothing.   If after reading them in the library you find a few that you would like to own, you can go to www.half.com   or www.abebooks.com and pay a fraction of the price you might pay elsewhere.
         I will be honest about being concerned myself regarding the possibilities for inflation or even collapse of the American government following the actions of the Federal Reserve with regard to "quantitative easing".  However, we have no choice but to set aside concerns about the machine of which you and I have no control, and direct our attentions and our preparations to the things in which we do. Our own preparations are one of the things of which we do have control.   Some time ago, I decided that I would use three certain foreign news groups for information, and that I would limit my dose of the news to a certain period of time daily.  I found that the barrage of bad news 24/7 was coloring how I looked at the world, and that this was not positive.

Emergency Supply Cabinet   http://www.globalindustrial.com/c/storage/cabinets/storage   I have one of these, but it's not orange. It's a lockable office cabinet I bought from a discount office supplier.  Mine is tan.

               I may be first to coin the terms preparedness stress and preparedness burn out.   Preparedness stress would be experiencing stress, fear or being overwhelmed at the prospects of all you believe you must do in order to properly prepare for the potentials in your area or living environment.  Preparedness burn out would be when this stress reaches a sufficient pitch that you set preparing aside for awhile, out of frustration and being unclear as to how to prepare next. There is plenty we can do in order to cope with these issues.   First, realize that preparation is a careful lifestyle, and that there is no specific date where we reach a point where we say......."There !  We are done" and we never look at it again.   It is a purposeful way to live and to protect one's family.   It is also a very broad topic.   One month you might be gathering some water, another you might be gathering medical records and medication listings. One month you might be getting HAM radio certification, and another you might be getting CPR certification. If you are moving in three months, amassing more supplies might be unwise, and so you might use spare time for educational pursuits in preparedness, rather than the gathering of "stuff". Preparedness asks us to be flexible, and work toward being prepared for the unanticipated, even if what we are planning for, does not transpire for years. I was certified in CPR originally in 1978. I did not use it for the first time, until 1980. I did not do infant CPR on one of my children, for near miss SIDS, until 1990.   Preppers plan for things which may not happen for many years, or may never happen at all.  We must prepare without pressuring ourselves unduly. As with life, the journey is important here, not necessarily the destination.

           So, very simply, when you are out of money with which to prep, either organize your supplies, or read a book on emergency medical care.  When you anticipate money to spend on preps, consider in advance the best use of your money, and list and compare possibilities and prices.  When all you have for preps is ten dollars, visit a garage sale.  A friend of mine saw a very reasonable Bell motorcycle helmet which could be useful in their area, for their child, come tornado season.  When you are out of money, check out discarded items.  Although "dumpster diving" can be illegal in some municipalities, in some places very good quality things are tossed out.  In the name of recycling, you should rescue them.   When you need to, simply take a break and spend time with the people you wish to protect.  Find ways to recharge your own batteries.  Remember the way of life you wish to protect.  I promise you, that continuing to prep properly over many years, can be done.



UPDATE:

  Of course, written and released after this particular post is my book:

Rational Preparedness: A Primer to Preparedness

which is designed to prepare families quickly and simply for varietal issues.    It is calmly and directly written and designed to help break down preparedness tasks in a reasonable manageable fashion.

The book can also be purchased on  Amazon.com   at:

 http://www.amazon.com/Rational-Preparedness-A-Primer/dp/147974008X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366063311&sr=8-1&keywords=rational+preparedness+book