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Embracing the prepper mindset attracts individuals and families from diverse backgrounds, each motivated by various reasons. Within this vast community of preppers, a significant number faces unique challenges, particularly in the realm of mental health. Whether confronting their own struggles or supporting a loved one, many preppers navigate the complexities of mental health issues. How do you go about preparing effectively when caring for those with mental health challenges?
At a very basic level, there are two kinds of mental health issues: genetic and environmental. Depression, social anxiety, PTSD, and others often have their roots in life experiences (environmental), as well as possible genetic predisposition.
Others, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, are more purely genetic, and then there are issues such as autism, which may have roots in both. In these cases, medication is almost always part of the treatment and handling change is often a huge challenge.
It can often be challenging to keep safe in everyday life those with mental health issues. Sometimes, their condition means they cannot recognize the danger of their actions. For example, they may not understand that running out in front of a moving car or jumping out of a second floor window is dangerous, or stop themselves even if they do know.
In a survival life or death situation, you as their caregiver may be forced to make choices that you would never, ever make in the normal ups and downs of life.
You must be prepared to make difficult decisions, to accept the least-bad option, to keep everyone alive and safe.
You must be prepared to make difficult decisions, to accept the least-bad option, to keep everyone alive and safe. Here are some examples of what that could look like:
Think hard about your loved one and what you may need to do if your choices narrow down to forcing them to go / not go somewhere, or possibly having them or someone else die. In a wide-scale emergency, there won’t be enough trained, experienced professionals to be everywhere they are needed. You need to be prepared to handle your loved one without professional assistance. Preparing in advance will make this easier.
Emergencies happen without advance notice. The number one thing you can do to help your loved one is to make a small card telling emergency care givers about their specific needs. (Bonus points if you laminate it. Fed Ex’s with print services often offer a self-service laminator.)
Remember that in a wide-scale disaster, the first responders you see may not be trained professionals. They could well be local CERT volunteers. CERT trains people in handling emergencies within the community but even trained, experienced professionals have difficulty handling mental illness. A card providing simple, clear instructions is immensely helpful to any caregiver who may assist your loved one.
For example, if first responders are warned that a person is autistic and flashing lights may set off a reaction, that may give them a small window to guide the person away before more emergency vehicles arrive. If there is specific music, pictures, a game – anything – that helps them calm down, list it. If it’s something they normally have with them (on their phone or tablet, for instance), include that.
The number one thing you can do to help your loved one is to make a small card telling emergency care givers about their specific needs.
They should keep this in their wallet or clipped onto their backpack or purse. In short, in or on something they have with them all the time. Adding an app with all their key information to their tablet or phone is another good step. This information will help anyone helping them. Make sure it’s easy to find and check it every six months or so to ensure the information is correct and up to date, and that the card hasn’t been misplaced or lost.
After my mother in law’s memory failures became critical, we added a sticker on the back of her cell phone with our contact information in case she got lost and couldn’t find her way home. My phone has an app with everyone’s basic medical information in case I am incapacitated or forced to evacuate in an emergency. These kind of simple steps can make life much easier in an emergency.
When change is the enemy, familiarity is a friend. Practicing is one of the best ways to make change easier in stressful situations. Practice makes things more familiar. Here are some key things to focus on:
Identify a designated meeting space for emergencies and in case you become separate in daily life and, and assign tasks for each person in an emergency (more on the latter in a moment.) There is no way to prepare and practice for everything, but these two easy steps are appropriate for a lot of different, potential disasters.
Stop by your designated meeting space on regular days, or having your loved one go there and meet you (so they are comfortable going there alone). This makes that task more familiar, more comfortable, and less fearful. The more you do it, the more comfortable, less fearful, and easier to remember it becomes. If a hurricane, tornado, or fire destroys your home, walking to the meeting spot may be a familiar activity that your loved one does just because they want to be in a place that is comfortable and familiar, IF you have practiced it regularly. If not, then you may find them walking around the house, stuck and unable to move on.
Practice your evacuation plan. Assign each person tasks to complete and make certain each person understands their tasks. That may be taking their own bag and emergency supplies to the car and staying there, or it could be something more complex like a list of chores to finish. If they have chores that are part of their normal life, they can still do them in an emergency. If feeding the cat / dog and cleaning up after their poop is part of their tasks, they can be responsible for putting their food and doggy poop bags in the car. If they help carry the bags to the car when you go on vacation, they can help carry them out in an emergency because it is still the same task.
On the other hand, asking them to do something completely new amidst a chaotic and/or dangerous time is asking for confusion and delay, at a minimum. It could easily lead to a total meltdown. If you know a disaster will require them to do something outside of normal life, practice, practice, practice. You may need them to help cover windows with plywood. You can practice standing and holding the wood in place. Even if it feels silly on a day without a cloud in the sky, it could make a world of difference in an emergency.
If you know a disaster will require them to do something outside of normal life, practice, practice, practice.
Practice making 911 calls, going to a trusted neighbor’s house for help, and even knowing some basic first aid skills. In many cases, aging parents are caring for adult children with special needs, and those children should know what to do if suddenly mom or dad isn’t waking up or is injured.
Whatever the novel task is, if it’s important in an emergency, find a way to practice at least part of it in advance. Even getting used to the feeling of work gloves and the weight / texture of the wood may make a huge difference. Baby steps in advance can make a huge difference later.
In addition to the emergencies everyone else has to be prepared for, those with mentally ill family members may need to be prepared for unexpected emergency room stays. Being seen in the emergency room can take a while for any person, but for those who need a psych bed (or – rarer still – a pediatric pysch bed), those waits can be interminable.
Keep a small bag in your trunk with supplies for your loved one and yourself. A basic kit might include:
A few more tips that can make going about daily life a little less stressful.
Once something happens, or is clearly imminent, the media coverage starts, and most media coverage could stress out Ghandi himself. Let’s not even think about how the sensationalistic media coverage could impact someone for whom even minor changes are stressful! Do your whole family a favor and turn off the TV and radio. If you need an update, listen using headphones or check online, then close your browser windows.
Keeping calm is important. Use the 16-second survival breath to help yourself remain as normal as possible. Talk about ‘the plan’ if something happens during normal life so that when you need to talk about it during an actual disaster, it is still “normal.” This lessens the possibility of the conversation becoming a major stressor in and of itself. Don’t push stress levels higher by inviting the crisis-hungry media into your home.
To reiterate, keeping an even temper and demeanor are important. If you are calm, it is easier for your loved one to stay calm.
Repetition is good for the soul, so here goes.
Talk about possible emergencies in advance. Practice. Keep basic supplies in your car, and rotate food and medicine regularly before they go bad from the heat. Remain calm.
Truthfully, these are the same steps everyone else takes, but with someone who is not neurotypical, you need to be more disciplined and repeat them a whole lot more. So much more that they become ingrained, normal even. You need to prepare for your loved one as well as yourself since you can’t expect as much help from them in a crisis.
But, as in so much of life, the basics really are the same as they are for everyone else. Be prepared – for yourself and for them. Practice, and have them practice. And make sure there is clear, easy-to-find information to help others help your loved one if you are separated from them.
How do you prep to help your loved one with mental health challenges?
Originally published February 15, 2016
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