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Twisted Avatar | 03-21-2009 02:46 PM
Emotional Stressors During Societal Collapse Emotional Stressors During Societal Collapse by Campcritter As determined men and women of yesteryear made their way west to make for a better life, pioneer women often kept journals of their life on the great prairies or sent letters home to their sisters back East. In those letters they described the silence as the most unwelcome guest. These brave women wrote about being left for weeks on end alone, lost in an endless sea of grass with only the wind for company while the men hunted or went for supplies. In some cases the quiet was so severe that it became unbearable and the women developed mental problems. One young mother in 1853 wrote, �Silence is an evil creature, it stalks you by day, watching, waiting, ever vigilant. By the dark of the moon it strangles your thoughts and slips away with your sanity.� Imagine now, that we are about six weeks into a societal collapse. You are sure you have prepared yourself fairly well. You�ve made all the plans and stocked all that needs to be stocked and you feel pretty confident that you and yours can weather whatever comes, right? After all, you have given lots of time and energy to making sure that you have everything that you need. You have provided for your physical well being, but have you taken the time to consider what happens to the family�s emotional stability when life as we know it suddenly takes a turn south? In all the preparedness information out there, there seems to be an expectation that ones emotional response to real world stressors are somehow less important than the physical. Or maybe people are not wanting to deal with that which is yet unknown and frankly, just too scary for most of us to comprehend. What happens to the emotional intellect when forced to shoot another human being for the first time or watch helplessly while a loved one dies of an illness or a massive wound. How about dealing with feral pigs, dogs and any other typically domesticated animals? Can you let your children out of your sight to play in the yard or do you live with constant fear they may become a meal for a once beloved family pet or the zoo animal that hasn�t eaten in a week? These are real life situations that need to be discussed along with beans, bullets and band aids. Even Tom Brown, �The Tracker�, writes of feral dogs of his youth while living in New Jersey. Now that the stores are not being stocked you have used up all that was in the cupboard and freezer and have broken into your stored rice and beans. Everyone in your household has been about four weeks without McDonald�s, potato chips, Spaghetti-Os, wine, beer and cigarettes. The family complains of being gassy and bloated and by now the cravings are so bad that even the neighbors lawn ornament is beginning to look good. Tempers are just one spark away from ignition within the family unit. Depression sets in as Sissy hysterically cries, �I�m never ever going to use a flush toilet ever again!� It becomes apparent that holding this unit together is going to be a real challenge. Isn�t it is amazing how a change in diet can trash the family dynamics? My field of study for the past 25 years has been in Holistic Nutritional Sciences. This field is centered around the whole body and everything that goes into it, air, water, plants, the soil plants are grown in and the health of animals that are used for food. Current research indicates there are definite changes in body chemistry when one gets off the processed and junk food hamster wheel. As chemicals, heavy metals and other toxic particles leave the body there is what has been described as a healing crisis and it can be all too real for the ones that suffer through it. Think for a moment, you have suddenly been forced to do without coffee or cigarettes, a real nightmare for some. What will you feel like in a few days? Your children have been forced to do without their favorite French fries or soft drinks. What will be their mood in a week or so? If you have ever been witness to a loved ones kicking of the habit you will appreciate that it is not always a pleasant happening. These are a few of the more obvious, lets take a look at some lesser known problems with our modern situation. Currently there are about 3,000 substances added to food that are on the FDA�s generally regarded as safe (GRAS) list but the GRAS can not guarantee that an additive is 100% safe for every human because not every human has the same biochemistry. Food colors seem to be most problematic for young children in that they can be toxic to the nervous system, kidneys or liver. And don�t get me started on genetically modified foodstuffs, it makes me screaming mad. I can�t say anything good about altering the perfection of the natural world. The fact that this brand new life form was not studied long term and released into the unsuspecting publics food supply makes me nuts. Were humans really meant to eat a corn plant with say, a petunia's DNA? Of course, that�s a much simplified version but I believe there are some things that we just weren�t meant to ingest. Genetically modified ingredients in infant formula being number one on my list to scream about. My list to scream about on the subject of GMOs just scratches the surface here ,but that rant is for another day. ( hint: get as many open pollinated seeds as you can ASAP. That means yesterday. If you don�t have a garden get open pollinated vegetable seeds anyway, they will make great barter in the near future. Most seeds are viable between 2 and 5 years.) An application of malefic hydrazide is routinely sprayed on potatoes and onions to keep them from sprouting but did you know that this potentially toxic chemical is sprayed on tobacco products in the U.S., and some chemicals such as propylene glycol, glycerin, or sorbitol are not always listed on a label. Aspartame as in Nutrasweet and Equal has been shown to be a precursor to Alzheimer�s and Parkinson�s diseases. What happens to the body when it doesn�t get it�s daily dose of acrylamide (a carcinogenic chemical created when potatoes and corn chips are baked or fried at high temperatures) or when the body is deprived of high fructose corn syrup from soft drinks? For some people they can have the same painful withdrawal symptoms as from coffee, cigarettes or drugs. I have seen people become depressed, angry, foggy in the head, sluggish and almost manic when taken off processed foods. Raw foods do an excellent job of cleaning out lots of toxins that accumulate in our fat. (See Power Foods by Stephanie Beling, M.D. and Rawsome by Brigitte Mars) More and more young people are becoming diabetic, something very rare at the turn of the century. My neighbors eight year old child has to be monitored for high cholesterol, it�s just shocking! Students are under much more stress these days than ever before which can result in emotional eating and behavioral problems. More cravings with less food available could be overwhelming to children who aren�t understanding why they can�t have a second helping. Even my own grandchildren are such fussy eaters, what happens when they no longer have access to their junk foods and are forced to eat �real food�? And by the way, their idea of what real food ( pull it out of the freezer and pop it into the microwave) is and my knowledge of whole real food doesn�t line up. Where as there lies the problem. When at Grams house you need to adapt or go without. (wink, wink, I have been know to bend just a little, sometimes.) Also, eating a constant diet of freeze dried storable foods and garden produce can have an undesirable set of problems all it�s own. Much more water needs to be taken in or the system seems to get painfully backed up. What about those pioneer women? They didn�t have GMOs or cell phones. They certainly didn�t need a good detox diet but many did keep journals to help insure some sanity. Writing stuff down is almost like talking to a friend. If our world does the "Patriots" thing, we all will be pioneers in our own right. Picture a world of teens without their cell phones, blackberries, computers, music or anything else that makes them tick. The withdrawal symptoms from the �NEED� to communicate alone surely should scare even the hardiest amongst us. Taking care of the emotional person is very personal and challenging. Learn what you can about the food you have been eating and the world around your retreat and take charge now. The mental health you save may be your own! A note to Grandparents: You are hereby requested to help keep our history alive. Talk to your Grandchildren about your history, our country�s history and how we got to this point in the world. Write it down if needed. Teach them all the skills that they will need in their future. Plant the seed early, grandchildren seen to respond to grandparents easily. Their world will be inherently different than the one we lived in. Teaching them how to garden, fix a roof, sew a shirt, harvest and save seeds, cook a stew, etc., everything that you know. What you don�t already know how it do, learn it together. They are going to need all the advantages that we can give them. Favorites from my library: Cookin' with Home Storage by Vicki Tate (Excellent) [JWR Adds: Tate's book is also one of our favorites.] Staying Healthy with Nutrition by Elson M. Haas, M.D. There is a section in this book about detoxification and fasting. (Excellent) This one is my all time favorite, it is so worn. 1,141 pages Never Be Sick Again by Raymond Francis, M.Sc. He tells why disease happens and how to avoid it. Nutrition and Mental Illness by Carl C. Pfeiffer, Ph.D., M.D. Written in layman language, very interesting, surprising causes of some symptoms. The Ultimate Nutrition Guide for Women by Leslie Beck, R.D. (Very Good) She tells women why they have health problems and how to deal with them. Superpigs and Wondercorn by Dr. Michael W. Fox (About GMOs.) http://www.survivalblog.com/

Twisted Avatar | 03-21-2009 03:00 PM
Re: Emotional Stressors During Societal Collapse Another quick story I thought interesting same website Letter Re: Our Hurricane Rita Evac Proved a Point--Timing is Everything! Dear Mr. Rawles, I was in Kingwood Texas, a suburb of Houston, and as keeping an eye on the Hurricane Rita projected tracks. When the "yellow cone of death" was centered squarely on Houston, I started to seriously access my situation. That Tuesday evening, everything still seemed sort of normal. The wife came home from work about 5 p.m. and we took the dog for a walk around 6 p.m. When we passed the local gas station that normally has 0-1 cars in it and there was a line 10 cars deep, I knew it was "time." I told the wife we were now implementing our "vacation" plans for Tennessee, and would be leaving as soon as I had the trailer re-packed. I brought the essentials and things I couldn't live without if there was no Houston to come back too. For example, I brought the computers but left the monitors. (Monitors are replaceable, the hard drives and info on them, were not.) We were wheels rolling by 9 p.m. Tuesday night, straight up Highway 59, with hardly another vehicle in sight. Just us and about 200-400 deer through the night, all headed in the same direction, that was weird ( nature knows) ... By Wednesday morning we were eating a lovely and peaceful Cracker Barrel breakfast about 20 miles East of Nashville and the waitress told us that Houston was basically having a riot on the freeways. Timing is EVERYTHING! We were 12 hours ahead of four million people leaving on the same roads, headed in the same direction. I learned that deciding to bug out is like deciding to take in a reef in your sails when sailing that is: if you're seriously considering it, then you should actually be doing it. All the best and God Bless, - Edward T. Permalink - Email This

MNeagle | 03-21-2009 03:02 PM
Re: Emotional Stressors During Societal Collapse Fabulous. Thanks TA.

Dave Thomas | 03-21-2009 03:22 PM
Re: Emotional Stressors During Societal Collapse Another reason to have tons of musical instruments stocked. I've got enough ukulele strings to equip all of Hawaii. Only problem with the survival part is when people hear me play and sing, they might actually shoot me.

End of Hope | 03-21-2009 03:38 PM
Re: Emotional Stressors During Societal Collapse This deserves a reprise - <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xPYwmHiseXQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xPYwmHiseXQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

MNeagle | 03-21-2009 03:58 PM
Re: Emotional Stressors During Societal Collapse Not only "old friends", but other eyeballs as well. For example, next week we are having someone do some taping on a basement wall. He will need to access the utility/laundry room for water/cleanup, unless I ask him to use my kitchen sink! Anyway, we have a couple shelving units with food on them. DH is wondering if they should be covered up or not. My instinct is no, draping a sheet over it would only invite curiousity & be peeked into anyway. It's not an excessive amount of food anyway, just the typical stuff to get through a MN blizzard if we had to...

MNeagle | 03-21-2009 04:09 PM
Re: Emotional Stressors During Societal Collapse Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Thomas (Post 1638555) Another reason to have tons of musical instruments stocked. I've got enough ukulele strings to equip all of Hawaii. Only problem with the survival part is when people hear me play and sing, they might actually shoot me.
Oh, don't underestimate yourself! Not only musical instruments, but other diversions as well. There was a "Toys for Tots" thread a while back, things to keep kids entertained; it would be good to have something similiar for adults. Must be NON-electric IMO. Here's a start: Books, including a good dictionary. (The books listed in OP post?) Puzzles Music, as mentioned & the replacement parts. Crafts like knitting, sewing, quilting. Tools, wood working things, firewood tools. Games Cards & books/rules of card games Paper or journals Writing/Artistic tools (paint, crayons, pens)

Fermentation | 03-23-2009 12:50 AM
Re: Emotional Stressors During Societal Collapse Good post, but short on a lot of answers. I've been thinking about this a lot. The one thin like is this quote: Raw foods do an excellent job of cleaning out lots of toxins that accumulate in our fat. (See Power Foods by Stephanie Beling, M.D. and Rawsome by Brigitte Mars) Been trying tell people this, but pearls before swine. Also my GF is doing Yoga, great for health, I'm sending her to India soon to take a month long teacher's course. I hope it's a good investment. I'm doing mediation,> great for health and mind. I'm practicing Falan Dafa: http://www.falundafa.org/eng/home.html and Vispassana: http://www.dhamma.org/, both are free sources and powerful. The Vispassana ten day freed silent meditation retreats will make you realize what you're made of. I did a four day at Spirit Rock: http://www.spiritrock.org/ outside SF/Oakland area. A real life changer for my, I cried and released often. We hiked to peaks, meditated, enjoyed the wild turkeys and deer in silence and practiced some Qi Gong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong in the morning sessions to break up seated meditation. This stuff is as important if not more important than beans, bullets, and buillion. Read the Road, by Cormack McCarthy , the Ultimate SHTF scenario. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road What good is all the preps if you lose it, kill yourself love ones, or just go freaking nuts. Do not underestimate stress. I've been lucky to see a lot of bad stuff in places all over the world. It has made me more resillient, especially the genocides (The mutiples ones I've witnessed) This witnessing is important for all. My big takeaways is that raw foods and fasting will prepare you for lean times as Goldissima noted in that thread. It will help you and your community. For instance right now, i know I can go 40 days (Fasting) without any foods, I've done it twice and my body healed itself wonderfully. So mentally I'm prepared to do so for my tribe and community if need be to save food preps. Also it's the best health insurance, i've seen it too many times to doubt it. So I understand about the detoxing on all these horrible pesticides, perservatives and other sh*t you can't pronounce. I have an early start. So here's what you can do: 1. Yoga ( http://fourmermaids.com/) training or practice. The link is for training, but you can go anywhere and learn the practice. 2. Meditation ( Vispassana) Link above, Faln Dafa( Link above). My GF practices Brahma kumaris: http://www.bkwsu.com/ All are wonder with the own quirks. All are formidable weapons in the arsenal of life. 3. Try your hands at what I call the 90 day challenge: Raw foods 30 days ( Only uncooked, unpasterized organic fruits and organic veggies) No salt, ni sugar, no soy sauce, only what I put above) No nuts or seeds at this time. 30 days - Raw fruit juices ( Master cleanse is allowed during this time. I prefer Beet and Carrot juice combo. If available thai green coconuts. 30 days raw foods again, same stuff as above. After complete slow transition back to cooked foods if you like, but your body will feel so good you won't want to do it again most probably. If you do transition back to cooked go with organic only, simple soups, veggies and etc. Your decisions on meat and etc. I wouldn't. What I'm doing soon: 90 day fast and a 90 day meditation seat. Everyday for 90 days i will only take Green Coconut juice water, and carrot juice, Supplemented with Spirulina and wheatgrass. i will meditate at least once a day for 20 minutes periods ( minimum) but the goal is everyday for 30 to 45 mins. I will also excercise everyday,maybe so cardio. I will documnet it all and post here. i'm doing this in anticipation of the inevitable SHTF scenarios in our near future. i feel this may be my last opportunity to get ready physically, better to start with a new body. Be well and join me if you like, i will respond to all PMs if you are interested. DON'T just jump into this with counseling from someone who hasn't done it. I have and i will make myself available to you if you want o join me on this journey. The road is long, but the rewards are worth it.

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