Disaster Preparedness II

1. Many people choose to remain in denial when it comes to preparing for natural disasters. What's the psychology behind this?
Why is denial so "attractive" to human beings?

People don't like change so it's easier for many people to psychologically block out the reality of a crisis actually happening to them, which is one of the biggest reasons behind the lack of preparation commonly seen in association with natural disasters. Thinking about the possibility of their home being damaged or destroyed is almost too traumatic for some people to consider since they believe that their home should always be the safest place.

While it is normal to not want to think or talk about the possibility of your home being damaged from a fire, flood, tornado, hurricane, mudslide, earthquake or other form of natural disaster, it's unrealistic. The national news media run stories almost every day that show people being impacted by this type of crisis, so at some point all of us need to deal with the possibility that it might happen to us as well.


2. We are promoting home disaster preparedness kits in our articles. Why should every individual purchase one before disaster strikes?

Feeling overwhelmed by stress or anxiety is often the result of feeling out of control. We can dramatically reduce that type of negative emotion by taking control of the things that we can control right now-like having a home disaster preparedness kit in place before a crisis hits. Think of this type of preparation as 'mental insurance' To protect your emotions during difficult times.

We can protect ourselves from the damaging effects of what I call 'storm stress' By learning to deal directly with the reality that disasters happen and by being prepared ahead of time to face the worst. Once you have conquered your fears of the worst case scenario you're free from the worry and pressure that blocks you from having a better life. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by taking positive action now to prepare your family and your home to deal with the challenges that could come at some point in the future.

Remember, storms can come into our lives and destroy houses, businesses, schools, churches or even healthcare facilities, but they don't have to destroy us. We can get stronger on the other side of the storms of life by using these principles and then passing them along to others to grow stronger as well.

Disaster Preparedness

Hurricane season officially opened on June 1st and the psychological storm stress levels are already building as evidenced by generators, flashlights and tarps flying off the shelves of our local Home Depot just as fast as they were placed there by store employees.

This could mean that people are taking careful steps to wisely prepare before the storms, or that they are impulsively buying things in a panic hoping that it will increase their luck in not having to face the unusual stress that only comes from storms. Here's a simple way to tell the difference. Does the household disaster plan reflect any sense of actual planning about what the items will be used for or where your family may have the greatest needs? Consider the issue that some sale items may be stacked on the pallet or end-cap in front of the store dramatically marketed down, yet still be redundant and useless to actually help your family.

Bottom line-If you don't know why you are buying something to handle the approaching storms, just put it down. It may be useful to you in the future but you don't need it now. Spend your time and energy on things that matter and you'll see a major decrease in storm stress, while building a greater sense of security for everyone in your family.