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DLOWTHEMAD |
Immune to Panic?
Jun 23 2011, 12:03 PM EDT
| Post edited: Jun 23 2011, 12:04 PM EDT
If not, Maybe you should examine how you'll make sure you aren't one of the helpless sheepy masses fleeing, looting, and dying. Even well prepared people may decide they just have to go get granny, some item, or other thing that if you slow down and think about is probably not worth fighting the panic for.My tactic to fight the panic is checklists, I have checklists in my BOB the tick off everything I need, and everyone important to me and my plan. If (and when) the time comes, I'll go down the checklist, see what, or who is missing, then measure the risk vs reward to go after it then. Since I'll already have the basics cared for, it will probably just be a reassuring measure that I'm well cared for, however, if not at least I can quantify the important things, take care of those issues and bug in. We are all human, so we have to prepare for human weakness, none of us are immune. Now matter how cool, trained, prepared, etc. How will you fight the panic? 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you?
Keyword tags:
Christopher Walken
common sense
Panic
planning
preparedness
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Carnack |
1. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 23 2011, 12:25 PM EDT
By preparing as much as I can ahead of time.
3
out of
3 found this valuable.
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Abu_Fulan |
2. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 23 2011, 12:44 PM EDT
I say a lot of it comes down to knowing your area well. Everyone talks up their plan, but the truth is that in the panic, circumstances will ruin most people's plans. I found out in the 2010 Nashville flood that having a kit in your car and a gun on your hip doesn't always cut it; some roads and even whole neighborhoods were flooded, and others were shut down by police. In that instance the mayor actually went on TV and asked citizens to stay home because there weren't enough emergency service personnel to handle the the disaster,much less respond to traffic accidents. He specifically refused to broadcast information on which roads were impassable and which were open in an effort to discourage people from traveling anywhere by car. The only way to safely get from A to B was to know the area really well, so well you could anticipate low points, swollen rivers, barricades and choke points where traffic would back up. That, and just driving slowly and carefully, since if you got hurt a 911 call wouldn't guarantee help. I think the panic will be pretty similar, and knowing how to circumnavigate the "helpless sheepy masses" will get you a long way toward where you want to be. Do you find this valuable? |
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DLOWTHEMAD |
3. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 23 2011, 12:50 PM EDT
"I say a lot of it comes down to knowing your area well. Everyone talks up their plan, but the truth is that in the panic, circumstances will ruin most people's plans. I found out in the 2010 Nashville flood that having a kit in your car and a gun on your hip doesn't always cut it; some roads and even whole neighborhoods were flooded, and others were shut down by police.Good point... I hadn't really realized they were a kind of part of the same things, but I have some GOOD topo maps I made off of google maps that I've laminated of a larger portion of the eastern US ( I'm gonna add the central and western portions soon, I'm moving to Utah) I just have it in a big binder with my stuff. I can leave any that are extraneous whe nth e time comes. On top of lots of cruising the country side between here and all three of my possible BOL's Do you find this valuable? |
Deadsilence1 |
4. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 23 2011, 1:43 PM EDT
"to be honest, i wouldnt go through my BOB at the worst possible time.i will have my BOB packed and ready to go,keeping my eyes on the news, once it is declared a pandemic(not neccesarily zed) i will be on route to my BOL., i will(hopefully) be gone before the panic reaches my town. Do you find this valuable? |
PedroAsani |
5. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 23 2011, 4:12 PM EDT
"to be honest, i wouldnt go through my BOB at the worst possible time.i will have my BOB packed and ready to go,keeping my eyes on the news, once it is declared a pandemic(not neccesarily zed) i will be on route to my BOL., i will(hopefully) be gone before the panic reaches my town."This. Your BOB should be primed to leave at a moments notice. Having it unpacked or needing to check it will waste valuable time. Do you find this valuable? |
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PedroAsani |
6. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 23 2011, 4:16 PM EDT
"I say a lot of it comes down to knowing your area well. Everyone talks up their plan, but the truth is that in the panic, circumstances will ruin most people's plans. I found out in the 2010 Nashville flood that having a kit in your car and a gun on your hip doesn't always cut it; some roads and even whole neighborhoods were flooded, and others were shut down by police.And this is where Bugging In is just as valuable a part of your plan as Bugging Out. You live in an area where flooding can happen. So you should have sandbags somewhere to make a permieter around the house. These double as fortifications on Z day. Now the flooding is over, I bet your local emergency response centre will GIVE YOU SANDBAGS FOR FREE. Sounds insane, but government departments like this love to get you prepared ahead of time. It means fewer people to prepare WTSHTF. If your house gets flooded, what happens to your electricity? Is there a way around that? If you have a generator, do you have a way to lift it above the flood or otherwise protect it from water? What about your posessions? Can you get them all upstairs? Do you have an upstairs? Food? Water? Do you find this valuable? |
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DLOWTHEMAD |
7. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 23 2011, 4:16 PM EDT
"This. Your BOB should be primed to leave at a moments notice. Having it unpacked or needing to check it will waste valuable time."The BOB is a single check on the list. I'm not trying to be unpacking all that. I mean outside things and people. If I decide it's time before the panic starts, I'm still wanting to have it laid out, not try to figure it out in the heat of the moment. Thing of it like a pre-flight checklist, even in the worst circumstances, military flight crews go through it. Do you find this valuable? |
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PedroAsani |
8. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 23 2011, 4:17 PM EDT
The single biggest thing you can do to mitigate this is move. Get yourself to higher ground, a more remote location, somewhere close to your town and work, but better situated to cope with the problems.
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DLOWTHEMAD |
9. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 24 2011, 10:55 AM EDT
So no one besides me is concerned that maybe human nature will take over and cause them to do something stupid?We tell all the noobs that panic is a natural thing, that it will happen everywhere. So what makes us immune? No matter what anyone says, most people could see that going out is a very bad idea at this time, but they will think to themselves " I have to have this thing" or " I can't reach uncle joe, we gotta go check on him". Again, it's human nature, even for intelligent people. How will you fight it? Just like anything else, paln for it now and take precautions... if you don't it may just get you. Do you find this valuable? |
C-Man121 |
10. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 24 2011, 11:41 AM EDT
"So no one besides me is concerned that maybe human nature will take over and cause them to do something stupid?The point of preparing, is so that we don't need to go get this thing, or we already have an evac-plan prepared for uncle joe. We realise that when Z-Day comes, there will be mass panicking, looting and crime. This is what makes us different from the sheep. They think they will be able to just go get what they want as soon as an apocalypse hits, but we know that we will not, that's why we prepare beforehand. Do you find this valuable? |
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PedroAsani |
11. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 24 2011, 11:48 AM EDT
"So no one besides me is concerned that maybe human nature will take over and cause them to do something stupid?Nope. Preparation and planning supercede any Panic. That is why they are so important. It is why people train constantly when they have to accomplish complex tasks. From the SWAT teams, firefighters, ambulance crews and military, down to the everyday workers. Right now I am doing a preparation regime for a 5 day contract in London. Have I done this task before? Yes. Could I go in cold? Probably. Will I perform better on Monday by rehearsing this weekend? Absolutely. And again, I am doing my scuba instructor course. I have to teach new people skills that could potentially save their lives whilst underwater. How to clear a water filled mask. How to retrieve a dropped regulator. These things are uncommon occurences, but if they happen to people untrained, they can panic. But by training, you treat these uncommon occurences as just a task that needs accomplishing. You overcome them, and go about your business. So by planning and preparing for disaster, you are working on overriding your Panic months and years before it should arrive. "You don't rise to the occasion. You default to your level of training" ~Charlie McNeese, Gunsite And this is completely true. If you analyse Panic, it is the actions of a person trying to formulate a plan and carry out that plan all at once. By trying to do all things at once, they accomplish nothing. By not taking the time to examine the flaws, they make bad choices, miss items off the list, and fail. 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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DLOWTHEMAD |
12. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 24 2011, 12:26 PM EDT
| Post edited: Jun 24 2011, 12:38 PM EDT
Planning and training are two vastly different things. I default to my militry training where guns are involved, but no plan... no matter how good is going to survive all the stress and craziness of the world falling apart. This is why pilots have a checklist, no matter how well trained, they can miss something.No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength" (or "no plan survives contact with the enemy)- Helmuth von Meltke the Elder The enemy here is panic. You can only plan what your first step is, because no matter what plan, who made it, or how good it is... you can't see the future. Your great plan won't help the moron who crashes into your house, and lets every zombie in the southfarthing in. Again, training doesn't always stop people from panicking. Planning only helps if you remember the plan when faced with stress, and panic is a natural human response to the impossibly scary. You know things like the end of the world. Don't even begin to think that just because you plan, you are no longer human. Referring to everyone else as sheep is wrong, they are HUMAN... just like you. Nobody's plan is going to go as planned, and assuming that because you say "I've got a plan on how to deal with world wide chaos" you are immune to the same feelings and panic as EVERY OTHER HUMAN is a bit short sighted. Military men around the globe panic and lose the plan, and they are well trained and disciplined to retain the plan. Just ask any vet who seen combat while with green boots. Seriously, the best example I can give you is this: When I was in school, we examined cadavers. No surprise there. I worked on several cadavers in the time I was there, having several classes each year requiring hands on experience. Even though I had done this contd: Do you find this valuable? |
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DLOWTHEMAD |
13. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 24 2011, 12:38 PM EDT
contd:Seriously, the best example I can give you is this: When I was in school, we examined cadavers. No surprise there. I worked on several cadavers in the time I was there, having several classes each year requiring hands on experience. I also worked at a slaughter house as a teen and young adult. Even though I had done this, when I saw my first fresh victim of a violent death, I was unsettled and naseous (yes I threw up). It took 20 or 30 before I was comfortable with my job. I still am very unsettled by child victims. No matter how much I trained I still underwent the normal human respone to seeing a person laying there dead, mangled and lifeless. I still do, I'm just accostomed to it, and know how to deal with it. If, the normal response to the end of the world is panic... no matter how hard you try your going to panic. If you haven't thought about this important part and planned for ways to force yourself to calm down. You will panic too..... A BOB and plan aren't like some magic talismans that change your basic human make up. Just planning and thinking of everyone else as sheep won't do it. We need to realize that we are still just as sheepy. No amount of preperation will prepare you for the unsettling sights of the end of the world. Mushroom clouds, zombies, plague victims, brutal violence, mangled bodies and people taking advantage are still going to make you literally feel panic... You have to have something to MAKE you sit down or stop and think. That's why I use a checklist, in my mind and plan the checklist is the key. I have to get the list, then fill it and bug in, or bail. Almost everything on the list is together (in my vehicle, BOB or home), it is just a tool, to make myself stop and do the right thing. If you see zombies in your neighborhood, are you really gonna remember that you need to stay... or will your mind immediatly to what it's programmed to do; fight or flight. Do you find this valuable? |
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C-Man121 |
14. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 24 2011, 1:54 PM EDT
"If you see zombies in your neighborhood, are you really gonna remember that you need to stay... or will your mind immediatly to what it's programmed to do; fight or flight."I'm gonna remember I need to stay....... But anyway, if you're saying all our plans wont survive the Panic, and that having BOB's and preparation won't even help, then why should we bother? Do you find this valuable? |
Iceman18 |
15. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 24 2011, 1:56 PM EDT
I think you have a very vaild point, even though you can plan and prepare as much as you want panic will still affect you. Even though I have a plan in place im sure the amount of crazyness in an apocalypse situation would make something go wrong. So as you stated having a check list or other thing to keep you foucused and on task is a good idea.
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DLOWTHEMAD |
16. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 24 2011, 2:56 PM EDT
| Post edited: Jun 24 2011, 2:58 PM EDT
"I'm gonna remember I need to stay.......So when you see something that causes an involuntary emotional response, you are going to be better than everyone else how? These things do help, and they the appropriate thing to do. However, expecting that you will be immune to the emotion panic is a little wrong headed. Instead, it's just like any other variable, one to be planned for and taken into account. Like I said before, the way to stop panic is to force one's self to slow down and keep it logical. Also be aware that the more rigid the plan, the less likely to work. You need to have backup options for every step... a back up bug in location, bug out location, be aware of how you'll survive with out your BOB if it's lost, alternate routes, etc. According to the general I quoted earlier, it's more about building a system of expedients. When I started thinking about this early this year, I started finding back ups for every location or route I might need. Alternate high ground for floods, different way to get to them, different places to go when I bug out after TEOTW, several different strategies and so on. I don't mean to make it sound hopeless, more try to spread a little of what I've found out... and a possible general flaw in the whole planning for disaster that we miss. Once you see a problem and accept it, then you can plan for it. Mostly, I think something to make one sit down and plan (or at least address how this is different from what you expected) instead of just running blind. Again, the issue isn't that having a plan is worthless so much as it's having a plan is useless if it expects you to be superhuman and immune to the chaos around you. Do you find this valuable? |
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C-Man121 |
17. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 24 2011, 3:11 PM EDT
I'm still gonna do my best to try and calm down, and not get carried away in The Panic. My main concern with the Panic though, is my family. And preparing for the Panic, is part of preparation that we're doing.
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DevilNuts |
18. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 24 2011, 3:13 PM EDT
| Post edited: Jun 24 2011, 3:15 PM EDT
"So when you see something that causes an involuntary emotional response, you are going to be better than everyone else how?Can you provide an example of an involuntary emotional response that cannot be mitigated through mental preparation? Panic is more of a reaction than an emotion, anyway. I am immune to panic. Do you find this valuable? |
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DLOWTHEMAD |
19. RE: Immune to Panic?
Jun 24 2011, 3:21 PM EDT
"I'm still gonna do my best to try and calm down, and not get carried away in The Panic. My main concern with the Panic though, is my family. And preparing for the Panic, is part of preparation that we're doing."It is, I just want people to know that they are still gonna feel the same panic as everyone else... no matter how well prepared, smart, or cool under pressure. I really think that alot of folks think that because they plan, they won't feel the same panic as everyone else. That's kind of impossible, the thing is being able to tell yourself when your panicked that you are taken care of, remembering the plan, and recognizing reason when nothing will seem or be very reasonable. Be aware that even if you plan, and don't panic that every time something goes a little wrong... say you an't find something important where you think it is, or a street you plan on using is blocked... It will make it harder and harder not to panic. Feeling trapped also will add to panic feelings. Part of the military survival manuals I've read deals with the stresses and emotions involved, addressing an appropriate attitude and giving examples of how you would naturally feel. The same care is needed here, this will be the most stressful thing any of us could imagine... doubled. Just knowing that the world is falling apart around you is going to stress you beyond belief. Knowing this, find a way to make yourself calm down, don't expect that just thinking positive and doing your best is going to be enough. Plan a way to stop yourself even if you're losing it. Do you find this valuable? |
