Podcast episode 081821
Published on August 18th, 2021
We constantly discuss the necessity of being mentally prepared being just as important as being physically prepared. We know that survival is 80% of the battle, while the physical and resource needs making up the remaining 20%. Just as importantly as being prepared with resources, we need to mentally prepared for the unexpected of a natural disaster. Today we continue our quest in understanding the influence of massive stress will have on the human body. To this end, I’ve unburied my biology and chemistry books for us to use in our discussion today. My desire is that you come away from today’s show with the hope that you can get through this scenario, regardless how hopeless it may seem. You can do it, and I’ll show you how.
Greetings to all my friends (both new and old), to my wonderful family, my fellow Alaskans, and my fellow Americans, wherever you are. Welcome to the Alaska Outlaw podcast, I am the Alaska Outlaw, thank you so much for joining me today. In today’s episode I think we should consider the value of your mental preparedness equally to your physical resources preps. We need to identify bone-fide methods to prepare our mind for success.
But, before we get after it today, I’d like to make sure that, for those of you who seek peace of mind and harmony with the world we find ourselves in today, or just need help in making sense of life, be sure to check out the Alaska Outlaw Forn-sidr podcast at http://forn-sidr.akoutlaw.com. After 30 years of spiritual searching and discovery, I have arrived home. Home to the ideology of of my ancestors. Home of a proud Germanic-Dane heritage. Some really good stuff for you there. Also, another second just to give a shout-out for our sponsors and affiliates:
Antennas Direct, Bad Ass Extension Cords, BrandsMart USA, Chewy, Chrome Burner, Ethos Preparedness, MediTac Kits, Power Systems, SunPower, Australian Native T-Shirts, Natures86 LLC, Sharesale, Survival Frog, and of course Google.
Shout out to all of them for supporting the mission here at Alaska Outlaw, we greatly appreciate taking a risk by supporting an “Outlaw” show. Please visit their links on our webpage and show them some love, they, like each of us, needs to pay their peeps.
So, let’s move on to the main event and discuss the necessity of preparing your mind for the challenges that may lay ahead. In my personal opinion, preparedness breeds self-confidence. It typically allows us to have everything laid out so that we can mindlessly move through it thereby allowing our brains the time necessary to clear and move forward. So, let’s take a little physiology.
So, the first impact that we’ll discuss is the hormone epinephrine. No, this technically is the “fight or flight” agent that pushes your heart rate through the roof, jacks the blood pressure, and cranks out sweat everywhere. No this hormone will make its way to the brain fairly quickly. It will throw havoc into the bio-electric, or neuropathways of the human brain. Now think of your neuropathways as a deserted road in winter time. In the beat of your heart, the road becomes covered in three feet of snow. Poof, you’re blind. You can kind of guess your way through it, although the fenders won’t appreciate it, you might make it to a place to pull over.
The second phase tightens all the muscles as it prepares the body for what may come next. Now, something to note here. While the body will flood the system with this stuff, the idea of being trapped here may multiply exponentially the effect, possibly releasing additional dosages to the brain. In our analogy earlier, we can go from three feet, to six. All the while we are gambling on what may be affected. Some have reported loosing consciousness, possibly overloading internal organs, like the heart causing an arrhythmia which could lead quickly to an attack. Possibly the brain due to increased blood pressure, possibly stroking out.
Most humans experience what is commonly referred to as “panic”. Panic is a laymen’s term for the neuro-transmitters of the brain unable to pass traffic, or conscious thought. This is the reality that we see in victims, even the most seasoned, or experienced individuals to freeze in action and thought. Now these bouts of panic are not something that most humans have control of, as they are a physiological response to a perceived threat. One of the most interesting facts of this event, is that the higher the intelligence, the greater the perceived threat, so if you panic easily, just means you are super smart.
So, we’ve kind of investigated the chemical malfunction within the body. We know the deck is stacked against us. However, there is a way to get through this. I will say that I see great people use these techniques everyday and are entirely successful at more than thought possible. I call my plan the “SBT”, or stop, breathe, think. In addition, I assist my friends with visual cues that can help them remember these three steps to success.
We know that these chemicals are released to assist the human body in either fighting, or fleeing. So sour muscles are all keyed up ready to go, so the biggest step here is to stop. The effects of epinephrine within the brain can last from minutes to hours, depending on how well we have developed our mind to handle the stress.
First step, is to stop the flood, we need to have a visual cue to stop the rush of hormones into the brain. Now, this may sound like a fairly easy task, but believe me, it isn’t. So, our visual affirmation can be as simplistic as “step one” written out on the back of an old business card. Maybe some sharpie on our “go bag” that says “here we go”. Remember we are going to keep our initial steps simplistic. We can use whatever it is going to take to make sure we follow the steps, one step at a time.
Using some of the methods that I have used for those individuals whom I’ve worked with, we are going to concentrate on three steps.
- Stop. Concentrating on stopping yourself as well as the mental processing
- Talk a breath. It can even be a quick one, essentially we are going to push oxygen into the blood stream, ultimately leading to the brain. This shot of oxygen will initiate clearing the fog.
- Focus. Focus on thinking about your next step. Cue on your visual affirmations. Make sure your affirmations identify individual steps. Clear and concise.
So, in an instant the earthquake happens, and is over, leaving us cuddled under the table. You may find yourself panicked clutching the underside of the table, we do our SBT, and start venturing out. But again we know are going to fight an uphill battle against the flood of hormones clouding our brain. What can we do to help clear the path. With that said, let’s identify some tips we can use to get through these crucial first seconds.
Here are some tips
Marking on floor
Low level lighting
Visual cues posted throughout
