These needs are difficult because we have no scientific quantifiers to apply to them. Yet most experts will agree that if we are to have a viable preparedness plan, these are extremely important aspects and we cannot ignore them!
In 1943 A. H. Maslow’s penned “A Theory of Human Motivation” where he attempted to identify and quantify these non-physical needs. In his publication he established a hierarchy of needs and motivation that has become the “standard” when discussing these psychological human needs.
However, Maslow doesn’t directly cover our spiritual needs and I personally think these are just as necessary (if not more so) to our mental health, especially in a crisis. I just cannot picture getting through any crisis without hope and peace, which are a part of my spirituality.
We humans have been struggling to measure and quantify these non-physical needs for millennia and we still aren’t there!
Yet time and time again, we hear about examples or miracles that have occurred where science cannot explain why a person survived a particular ordeal other than; “their will to live” or “their spiritual strength to survive”.
When in a crisis scenario there is a huge disruption that can, and usually does, create trauma, stress and distress. There have been many studies done on the human reactions to crisis situations. Depending on which "expert" did the study, will depend on how many stages they say we humans go through in a crisis.
- Shock – The “deer caught in the headlights” stage. We are immobile and non-responsive
- Denial – The “this is all a bad dream” or “I’ll wake up and everything will be honky dory” stage. We are still not actually doing anything to help ourselves, but we are aware of our surroundings and can respond to questions.
- Action – In this stage we accept what has just happened and start to actually DO something – Like assess injuries, who is around us, where our loved ones might be and what course of action to take to meet up and be safe.
No matter how many phases you define, these simple facts remain:
- The quicker we get to actually DOING something to help ourselves, the better our survival chances are.
- The more detailed pre-planning we do and pre-warning we have, the better chance of survival we have.
- The more we practice a worst case scenario, the quicker we ACT instead of REACT.
These cannot be book learned. One must DO to achieve them. We can’t just have the knowledge or read a set of instructions and voila – we suddenly have these strong non-physical necessities to life.
In today’s world many of the “tools” we use to meet these non-physical needs are material rather than non-material. In essence they are outward “props” that we put on or surround ourselves with to accomplish our requirements in this area.
In preparedness these “material props” are a major hindrance to our survivability quotient, since during a crisis, these “tools” and “props” are often unavailable or very difficult to come by.
On top of that some of these “props” may actually “mark” us as a potential victim in the crisis environment.
So our preparedness plan needs to have a way for us to exercise our minds and souls so we can survive and thrive without all these external material things, and still have a strong and healthy mental attitude or psychy.
So it makes sense that our preparedness plans should strengthen these non-material “props” and hence make us a much stronger individual. Both spiritually and psychologically.
- Think non-electric, non-technology.
- Think small, compact, lightweight and portable for those crisis mobility times (even if it is just to make it home to shelter in place). Save the larger items for the preparedness retreat(s).
Here are some physical items that meet the above requirements:
- Holy book or scripture in paperback format
- A spiritual devotional book (paperback) and or cards
- Phone numbers and addresses of spiritual leaders in your area
- Phone numbers and addresses to any mental health providers in your area
- Small spiritual cards with devotionals, scriptures or pictures on them.
- Small spiritual artifact (like prayer beads or a rosary)
- Motivational paperback (with your favorite quotes highlighted and marked)
- Small motivational item like a picture or card, even a bookmark.
For your Shelter-In-Place spiritual and mental items you can go with less portable things and even audio/video items as long as you have an off-grid power source for them and they are not damaged by the crisis itself.
Throughout this article you will see that the two most important tools for mental and spiritual preparedness are a good deal of soul searching (honesty) and visualization.
With this in mind we should make a conscious effort to form alliances with family and friends. We can do this by joining together for group buying and or exchanging knowledge or skills with each other. These people become our informal support system that we can utilize and lean on when things go bad. Some may even become a formal support system, like a Preparedness Group.
Many other factors and tips apply to both mental and spiritual health. So we can take care of two birds with one stone so to speak ;-}
Next week we'll specifically cover our Mental/Psychological Preparedness needs, tips and tricks.