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Sunday, February 22, 2015

The simple secret to surviving any crisis

Here's my WND column for this weekend entitled The Simple Secret to Surviving Any Crisis.

A hat tip to Daisy Luther at The Organic Prepper for the genesis of this idea.


  1. Good article. There is another complimentary factor as well. Having a strong leader or authority figure. For most chidren this is their mother or father. For everyone in the military it is their NCOs and COs. For adults in this country it is the firemen, health professionals, police, etc. But in a crisis it is often the one person who is there who can take charge and rally the people. In some instances and throughout history the leader is the single most significant factor during a crisis.

  2. I read this yesterday. It's a really important piece. It applies to any emergency, any day of the week.

    It prompts us to think back to emergencies we've already faced in the past: A car crash?...a fire?...a break-in?...a broken bone?...going into labor at a bad time?...a heart attack?...losing a job?

    What did we do THEN? Did we become paralyzed with fear? How did we respond? Did we take charge or did someone else take over? Do we need to honestly re-examine ourselves and our capabilities so that we can survive the next emergency?

    A really important piece.

    Just Me

  3. This has always been my motto- situation now, emotions later. You have to be ready to deal with any situations coming your way at anytime without being crippled by your emotions or fears. Deal with the situation now, process your emotions later.

  4. Your article was excellent, as always.

    I would like to point out the large percentage of the population that are classified as on the Autism Spectrum. It is vitally important that the neuro-typical individuals who love them and are involved in their lives work very hard to go over scenarios and write down for them what they are to do should an event arise.

    Some people on the spectrum are capable of reacting quickly to change; however, many are not. Sudden change, stressful events, and fear can literally freeze their thought processes and reactions.

    The Spectrum has been expanded to include a large number of disorders; hence, reactions will be different. The number of children diagnosed as having some form of autism has risen drastically in the past years.

    There are many people who have a spouse on the Autism spectrum. In good times this is a difficult situation, but when emergencies, trauma, or sudden events arise, the neuro-typical spouse is totally in charge and on their own. Plan accordingly and, if possible, find others who are like minded and will help.

    Be realistic and give family members jobs within their capability. Exclude no one, except very young children, the totally incapacitated, or those that are dying.

  5. "The number of children diagnosed as having some form of autism has risen drastically in the past years."

    Why is that? The government gives money to any parent whose child is diagnosed in this way. They give money to schools with any child diagnosed in this way. And doctors and health professionals are milking the government money as much as they can for patients diagnosed in this way. 30-40 years ago most these people wouldn't have been given a second thought. They would have made it through school and gone on with their lives without the money grabbing stigma of being diagnosed as autism spectrum. If you want to dramatically reduce the dramatic increase in autism spectrum then end the government gravy train and it will die away like disco did back in the 70's

  6. I am unaware that the Government gives money to anyone diagnosed with any of the disorders on the Austism Spectrum. Obviously, anonymous was speaking of people who are on welfare or those who claim some form of autism as a disability.

    There are many people, even in their 50's and 60's, who have held down good jobs all their lives, but have struggled socially, struggled with comprehension, and had difficulty with verbal skills. The path of vocation they chose usually lines up with their skill set.

    I think it's rather arrogant for anyone who has not lived daily with someone on the spectrum to classify all situations as the same. Many people are quite financially sound, don't receive Government handouts in any form, and work daily with family members on the spectrum.

    It is always wisest to obtain all the facts concerning all aspects of a situation before generalizing and categorizing. The point of the previous post was to widen the vision of being prepared when working with a wide variety of individuals.

  7. Listening to the news one would think autism has dramatically increased. It has not. The rates of autism are the same as they were 50 years ago and 100 years ago etc. What has changed is how we diagnose autism which now inlcudes people who are fully functional. Why? Federal funding. It exists even though you are unaware. Has your property taxes gone up every year and do public schools cost more every year? Yes and a big part of that is the decision to "mainstream" autistic children. They require a babysitter in the form of a teachers aide. In some cases one fulltime employee is hired for one autistic spectrum student. Is this increased federal and state spending? Yes, even if you aren't aware of it. Do the parents of autistic children get SSI and other forms of federal aid including fre and subsidized health and mental health care? Again, yes, even though you are unaware of it. So the parents, schools and health care do in fact get more money and oddly they also get to decide who is autistic spectrum. Hmmm, no chance of conflict of interest there. The point is that as in so many things the special interests in conjunction with politicians have been looting the treasury and decieving the public for profit.
    I can only add that It is always wisest to obtain all the facts concerning all aspects of a situation before generalizing and categorizing.