Beyond Beans, Bullets and Band Aids

[Illini Warrior]

"Supplies like water, food, and medical supplies are essential during a disaster. However, these may not be enough. Research into past tragedies demonstrates that our mental resources may play a significant role in survival in emergency situations.

When we talk about a disaster plan, we often talk about stocking up on food, ammunition, and medical supplies. These things are considered to be the “backbone” of disaster preparation. In fact, there is a saying: “Beans, Bullets, and Band-Aids,” which refers to this notion.

While it is true that things like food, medical supplies, and water are critical when it comes to preparing for disaster, there is an essential component that is being left out of most disaster prep plans: mental health preparedness. Mental health is rarely mentioned in articles that talk about disaster preparation."


https://survivalblog.com/2022/05/18/beyo...son/print/

https://survivalblog.com/2022/05/19/beyo...son/print/

[bigpaul]

mental health will be the first thing to go in a crisis, look at the pandemic lock downs over here for a point in fact, many parents saying their kids mental health has suffered but maybe its the crap their eating.

[Mortblanc]

And I got up and walked all the way over to the computer monitor to read all that fine print BS. It's not readable on the big monitor.

I have formulated a long and serious post in reaction to this OP. It dealt with the differences between actual mental health and fight, flight and freeze reactions during crisis. I erased it and I am going to agree with BP.

It might even be in the water!

[bigpaul]

or it might just be modern living!
most people unlike myself seem to have this need to be around others, its like some kind of herd instinct thing, remove them from that physical contact and they go to pieces, goodness knows how they will react to a post collapse event, probably go to pieces. I think suicide rates increased during the pandemic, post SHTF they will sky rocket, I've heard many people say " if shtf is like that I dont want to live".

[Joe]

It’s an interesting concept and to some degree I agree, I suspect that 99% of the population would struggle to function in a real life of death situation. When people are faced with what is viewed as a terrifying event they tend to just freeze up, I’ve seen this so many times in the sports I’m involved with.
In order to mitigate this effect you need gradually and repeated exposure and eventually your brain starts to operate in this high fear environment.
The second stage is the after effects, people do struggle after a major disaster and most will be less than useless for several days after a major event. If they can stay alive during this they might have half a chance but the majority will just give up.
It’s all down to conditioning, even if you think you have everything in order if you haven’t experienced ultimate fear then you might just cease to function regardless of you brave you think you are.

[bigpaul]

"useless for several days"??? try weeks maybe even months, most will still be useless after that.
we have a modern population who have no concept of looking after themselves and are lacking in survival skills and knowledge, I wouldnt give you tuppence for the chances of survival of said 99% of the population.

[CharlesHarris]

Lots of bucks, bullets, booze, batteries, beans, bog roll, blankets, bully beef, butts, biscuits, bandages, blades.

[Mortblanc]

Joe has part of the answer, so does CH.

It is not as much a "mental health issue" as it is accepting the fact that some crap is going to befall one in the immediate future.

In the mush brain world it is called conditioning. In the military it is called training.

How long does it take to "condition" an individual to ignore terror, confusion and chaos?

It takes 16 weeks.

It takes 8 weeks of boot camp and another 8 weeks of branch advanced combat preparation, which in my branch was called Advanced Infantry Training.

After that it takes about two months of continuous in unit exposure to the sounds, sights and concussion of desperate reality to season an individual to the point that they may survive TEOTWAWKI for a bit.

At that point they are reacting on instinct and training. One reacts automatically to stimulus, based on a standard operating procedure, and hopefully the result will be survival.

If you do that to one person you have what is called a warrior. If you do it to several thousand you have an army.

Lack of training and lack of following SOP is the reason for the differences between the Ukrainian and Russian armies at this moment in time.

But I also agree with BP to some extent. Right now, with things in a general state of apathetic privilege, in the midst of plenty, the number one killer of men between 16-60 in Great Britain is suicide. The majority of those being the grown men in the 35-55 age group, not the young ones with their face in the phone.

It's not a mental health issue, it's lack of balls!

You, me and everyone else knows it. Calling it a mental health issue is simply another way to take the responsibility off the individual and transferring the blame to society for not providing enough "support", whatever that is.