Hello my friend and welcome back to another one of our post. I think that most of us realize that fatigue will get you killed in a survival situation, but the question is how do you prevent it? This is going to be the topic of today’s post so grab a cup of coffee and have a seat while we visit.
Fatigue comes in many different flavors such as Mental, Physical, and Emotional Fatigue. Knowing and understanding it can help you avoid it and even recover from it more quickly. When you are fatigued, you can often make mistakes that you would have otherwise not have made. Because of this your judgement often becomes impaired and you become forgetful as well in many cases. These are the symptoms of mental and physical fatigue along with a feeling of total exhaustion too. After SHTF hits, you will no doubt find yourself working very long hours, much longer than you are used to. There will be much more physical activity than you are probably used too and you will quickly become physically fatigued and start to hurt all over which just adds to your misery. You may be surprised to know that Physical pain can also be attributed to mental fatigue as well. Long hours, little sleep and just the enormity of the challenge that faces you, just trying to survive, can sometimes make you wonder if it’s worth it. Things like falling asleep on guard duty or forgetting to lock a gate or door due to fatigue will get you killed and probably your loved ones as well. When you are fatigued, you often don’t pick up on the subtle things around you such a movement and sounds as well. If you are going to survive, then you are going to need to find a way to overcome it and the key is to start by preparing now!
One of the ways of preventing Fatigue is to get plenty of rest and yes I know that will be all but impossible once SHTF hits, but you will need to take advantage of every opportunity that you get. You need to stock up on multivitamins with lots of B-12 and “C” in them. Why the “C” you may ask? It’s because when you become fatigued, your immune system becomes compromised. The last thing you will need is to become sick and deal with that as well. This is yet another good reason for not trying to go it alone. There will be a ton of things that will need to be done and one person just simply not is able to do it all and watch their back at the same time. The more the merrier they say, so try to have as many people as possible in your survival group to help shoulder the work load. Fatigue is your enemy as much as anything and can get you killed if you don’t overcome it. Another thing that you need to do is to drink plenty of water! Dehydration will cause you to fatigue much faster than you would think. In fact it is the leading cause of most types of fatigue, so be sure to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated. When it comes to mental fatigue, remember to share the load and not try to carry the world on your own shoulders. Let others shoulder some of the responsibilities because if you are like me, you will tend to think you can save the world even though you can’t. This is a mistake that many people will make after SHTF hits and will lead to emotional fatigue as well.
Emotional fatigue is a whole different animal all together and I could do a post just on it. It can be the most devastating fatigue of all if you let it. When you see other people starving and doing without, including little children and you can do nothing to help, it will take its toll on you! It will create a feeling of helplessness in you like you have never known before and will slowly tear you apart from the inside if you let it. Don’t let it! You cannot save them all and you didn’t create the situation. Now I know that it is easier said than done, but must try to remember that. When you come face to face with the realization that you may never see many of your loved ones again, it can send you into a deep dark hole that will take all you have to climb out of. So how do you fight this type of fatigue? You do it by forcing yourself to focus on the good things that still remain. Things such as the fact that you are still alive and that there is still hope for the future, as these are the things that are still good. Let me give you a little advice; whether you believe in God or not, keep a Bible with you in your preps. When you are feeling down and things seem really dark, you can always find words of hope in it. You will also need it for marriages and funerals as well. It’s been my experience that it can make you feel better when nothing else will just by reading a little of it. Find and pack others books of inspiration as well. Just remember that while fatigue comes in many forms, it doesn’t have to cripple you or get you killed, if you only take the time now to plan ahead and prepare for what is coming. Well that’s it for today and I hope you have enjoyed today’s post. Until next time, stay safe, stay strong and stay prepared.
-The Sargent-
I think the minimum of 6 people is the rule. 2 on guard duty,2 working on other needed jobs,canning food,chopping firewood,gardening, ect. While 2 are sleeping. This makes sense.