My friends there is so much anxiety, turmoil and disturbance in our lives that I worry how well some are coping with it. There are people that I deeply care about that are scared, confused, overwhelmed and starting to fray at the edges. I urge you to take a step back, close your eyes and breathe deeply for a few breaths and exhale slowly. You will most likely feel overwhelmed if you try to take the whole panorama of urgency and turmoil in at one time. Remember the old saying, “how do you eat an elephant?” Answer, “one bite at a time.”
I’m going to try and apply emergency first aid in dealing with the issues. Some issues are true life threats and must be addressed timely with certainty and purpose, some aren’t immediate life threat (such as what we hear about all the time on the news)! These are what we must tend to in our “primary assessment!” Using the “rule of 3’s,” the theoretical “average,” adult without serious pre existing conditions will survive the following average times with or without some temporary or permanent impairment or damage. 3 minutes without oxygenated blood supply to the brain. 3 hours in an extraneous environment such as hyperthermia or hypothermia, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food!So after our primary assessment of the threats from COVID (or any other pandemic), rioting, forced closures of business and services, breakdown of the supply chain, etc. Which of these threats will contribute to life threats?
Remember the first crucial time was oxygen getting to the brain within 3 minutes so RELAX and breath, congratulations you have just now advanced your survival to 3 hours, So, unless you are being burned out of your dwelling place due to rioting, kicked out by your lender or landlord or suddenly have all your clothing disappear, most likely you are going to survive till the 3 days level. WATER, our body is made up mostly of this substance! We must remember to stay hydrated so as to be able to function as the incredible human machine we are! We’ve got to keep our family in the practice as well. We must all be hitting on all cylinders. So now with oxygen getting to our brains and organs, not freezing or overheating, staying well hydrated we are magically up to 3 weeks survival! Most of us carry a handy reserve of food tucked away on our body just for times when food is scarce. A pound of fat produces roughly 5,000 calories!
That is about the amount of calories a male engaged in hard manual labor under stress in cold conditions needs to survive! What I’ve tried to get you to see and most likely are failing miserably is that despite how uncertain and chaotic our lives may seem, for the most part we are not in imminent danger! It’s not like it’s one minute to midnight and at midnight the grim reaper will appear at our door! One of the driving factors of these fears and concerns are politics being fanned by 24/7 news channels and social media. Get away from this for just a little while, step outside and look up! The sky is still there, it has not fallen despite those who want you to panic and expect it. Honest question, what if it was falling? You are just one mortal soul who has control (for the most part) over only yourself. You are not Superman or Supergirl! You can not save the World, your country, your state, your county or neighborhood by yourself. What you can do is take control of yourself, then help family, then neighborhood!
Getting back to the whole rule of 3’s for survival, as a prudent person, there is nothing wrong with practicing good health measures to decrease the likelihood of contracting COVID-19 but if you should, simply follow your health care professionals directions and your chances are very good you will be ok. It does not have to be a death sentence for the majority of folks. Next, what if riots and civil unrest continues and moves into your neighborhood? First maintain situational awareness. Keep vehicles serviced, fueled and ready to go. Keep go bags and important documents ready to grab at a moments notice. You need to have a family emergency plan on where you will assemble (especially important since there are families where mom or dad may be at their workplace and children at other locations. If you are interested in learning more about family emergency plans I can help you with that, just ask! We all have valuables and naturally don’t want to lose them, but life is the ultimate valuable and can’t be replaced! Insure valuables and move on! Get out of the danger zone!
For me, I personally am a Christian so I am comfortable with whatever comes my way because I know that there is peace and eternal life awaiting me in a Heavenly home. Regardless of your faith or lack thereof, I urge you to soul search and find a comfortable and happy place in your mind and let your spirit dwell there to allow you to decompress! I send prayers for peace, comfort, healing, security, prosperity and happiness for everyone!
Super good advice. I hope folks give this a try.