Well, hello my friend and welcome back! I’m sure you have felt exhausted before in the past and you will be even more so when SHTF hits. But what can you do about it? This is the subject of today’s post, so grab a cup of coffee my friend and have a seat while we visit.
Last weekend, I participated in the National Emergency Communications Drill known as “Summer Field Day 2017”and let me tell you there were plenty of exhausted people there on Sunday morning. Many had been up over 24 hours straight and were struggling to keep their eyes open. This got me to thinking about SHTF and how exhausting it’s going to be.
Our safe and secure world that most people live in will be shattered and the stress of that alone will cause them to lose sleep on many nights. Then there are chores which need to be done, many of which will be very labor intensive. Things like walking guard duty, hunting, working in your garden, etc. will need to be done on a daily basis and will just add to your fatigue.
A fatigued person will not only have less energy, but will struggle to maintain an effective thought pattern, thus making bad decisions. This was very evident at our Field Day exercise when asking fatigued members questions they would have to stop and think before answering simple questions. Let me make this very clear, Fatigue will get you killed in an SHTF situation, so avoid it at all cost. If others like your family are depending on you, then it’s even more important.
Your vision is also adversely affected by sleep deprivation as well. In a world where there are potentially people all around you who are just waiting for the opportunity to take what is yours, it could very easily get you killed as well as those who depend on you. Now, I’m not talking about just being tired, because that will be a given in a post SHTF world, I’m talking about not getting enough rest to be able to think clearly and defend yourself and your family at any time.
Alright, so how do you keep exhaustion from occurring in a post SHTF world? It won’t be easy, but it can be done if you properly prepare ahead of time. The first thing you need to realize is that you can not do it all by yourself when SHTF hits. You need to plan ahead of time and create alliances with other people and Preppers in your area. Now I know that some of your are thinking that I can do it all by myself and I don’t need anyone else to help me. That’s all fine and good if your Superman, but if you’re a mere mortal like the rest of us, then you had better get busy putting together a group just incase you do need them when things get too bad.
Let’s look at what advantages a group has to offer just in the way of manpower for getting things done. First off when it comes to protection, being able to rotate the guard so everyone has at least one night off each week is essential. Once your out of fresh meat, someone is going to have to go hunting and will likely have to travel further and further each time due to the dwindling availability of game. That’s if the walking dead haven’t killed them all off in your area. There will also be the never ending chore of working your garden in the summer and fall. Then of course there Preparing cooking and cleaning that still has to be done. Some of these chores can be very demanding as well. The more people you have with the right skill sets the better off you will be.
Now, back to not sleeping, what can you do for that? I mean there will be no Air Conditioning or central heat to keep you comfortable anymore. If you live in the South, this can be a real problem with it’s high humidity. And in the North, the hunt for firewood will be never ending during the Winter. Many Preppers will simply not make it because they would not be realistic about what was coming. I honestly see how even 2 or three people could safely survive together let alone one by himself.
As for dealing with the stress, there are many natural oils and herbs which can help relax you so you can get some rest at night when you finally stop. Taking the time now to learn “Ty Chi “ or maybe how to meditate as corny as that sounds could do you a world of good when it all falls apart. I doubt even that will help if you don’t set aside enough time to actually rest and recharge your batteries.
Here it is in a nutshell folks, None of us can survive a real SHTF situation by ourselves so you better wake up and take a hard look at your plan if you think you can. We need each other and together is the only way to reasonably expect a real SHTF situation.. Well that’s it for today and I hope you have enjoyed today’s post. Until next time my friend, stay safe, stay strong and stay prepared. God Bless America!
-Sarge-
Sleep deprivation and exhaustion can lead to many safety/well-being concerns.
Set side the collapse of modern conveniences and now having the added responsibility of cooking, gathering, hygiene and surviving come into play. Most people, not strong-minded or physically healthy, will have a difficult time adjusting to the ‘new world’.
Fear, loss and anxiety will play large roles of being sleep deprived and adding to confusion.
Having the support of other ‘survivors’ I believe is key. One or even two people working non-stop will only deplete the ‘groups’ resources.
Very well said Goldendawne! 🙂
setting up a group is easy to say but hard to do, especially in my country where very few people are preppers and most are reliant on the system.
You made some good points about teamwork to lighten the load.
How about caffeine, that cup of coffee everyone enjoys? Its a good short-term crutch for keeping alert, so we need to keep plenty of coffee in storage for emergencies, along with a way of brewing it without electricity. Here in the south, a youpon shrub or two in the yard would be a good choice for providing home-grown caffeine.
Keeping in shape is another way we can minimize exhaustion, preferrablly by doing the things one would need to do in a SHTF world – lifting weights repeatedly to build strength and stamina, running, and gardening large plots. If we get used to it now, it won’t be such a shock when our lives depend on it.
I would never forget my Coffee! That and my Cigar is a must for me. 🙂