Mental and organational fitness

[PreppingPingu]

Thought I'd post this in a different thread rather than hijack the fitness for 2014 thread! But that thread got me thinking ... non-physical fitness.

Something that I am doing, which is for a prepping angle as well as a general well being angle, is to try to get myself more mentally together. I tend to think of myself as a mentally strong person but anyone who had had any form of depression or life changing situations will tell you that until you are in that sort of situation, you don't really know how together you are mentally. I am fortunate in that I haven't had depression myself, or fallen apart at the seams but it occurred to me that whether we are prepping for the global end of days or for a personal shtf, mental strength is vital as all those physical preps will useless if you just curl up into a ball. Mental preps are a hard thing to quantify or to train for, (unless you are in the forces maybe?)

So I am trying to be more organised in everyday life as this has a knock on effect of positivity, which leads to a better feeling of well being and better ability to cope with what is thrown at you. Start small - an example of this is I am being more organised in my daily routines in order to squeeze in 5-10 min of physical exercise at the start of the day. I am making bread every other day - got that down to a fine art now of fitting it into making tea, taking the kids of where ever they need to be etc etc. Just by doing these 2 things, means I am more organised therefore I am achieving things that I didn't achieve last year. This in turn gives me a positive feeling but also the knowledge that I can achieve things that I want. I also know I am getting physically fit, so that mean I am mentally able to feel secure as I now believe that I can cope better with what ever may happen in the future. Its all linked. Hope I haven't rambled and that all of that makes sense!

I know personality does come into it - I am sure that we all know a family member or friend that is very "woe is me". I also know that not everyone can paint on a smile and charge back on out there due to illness, mental or otherwise. Sometimes prepping from a mental perspective is just about getting the help we need now before its too late and the brown stuff has hit the fan. So whether its organising yourself better, taking up Yoga or Tae Chi or getting counselling and professional help, mental fitness shouldn't be over looked in your grand prepping plans.

[Steveo82]

I couldn't agree more, prepearing really helps me stay positive and sleep at night. I'm a control freak and don't like the unknown. By prepearing myself, home, family and life I find I can sleep better. I have to keep it simple and concentrate on one goal at a time as I can go off on a tangent at times. The best thing in my life for keeping my head screwed on is my other (better) half. She supports me in more ways then she knows.

[Malthouse]

That is an excellent though and well worth people taking the time to consider.

Being able to manage your time and also to be able to say yes, I can do that has a massive positive effect. They do say that if you want something done ask someone who is already busy.

One word of caution, being Devil's Advocate, be wary of filling your life with ever more "stuff" as it is sometimes an unhealthy urge when there is something that needs doing but you really want to avoid it.

[Arzosah]

Fitness in the way you describe, Pingu, I think its *the* most important sort of fitness - after all, somebody who's supremely physically fit, if they collapse into depression, they won't help themselves at all.

I like what you're saying about fitting things into time when you're already on the go - I love doing that! If I've got the washing machine on, and I'm preparing to put some soaked beans in the slow cooker, and putting away the washing up, boiling the kettle to put the pasta on for the meal, while in the next room I've got the computer on and I'm doing the monthly backup of files - thats time well spent, so that those ordinary tasks don't impinge on quality time that can be spent elsewhere! Whether thats gardening, or going out for a walk, or researching online, or chatting with friends. Its not about being busy-busy, I find its about being as efficient as I can in the routine things, so that the rest of the time is my own, to do whatever I want Its very empowering. Fitness, as you say

[maxilaura]

well with the organisation side of things, today I got up and got out my sharpie pen and numbered all the loo rolls. I am going to do the same with other stuff, especially the milk bottles in the fridge. I have some sort of idea of a rough number of how much we consume during one month - but I want to be more prepared with an absolute figure of what we use during one month, and then it will be to figure out how much a one month supply costs.

I am also starting a list of what meals I prepare for dinner, so that I have a meal plan for a month and what goes into the meal and then to figure out how much it all costs.

I really need to be more aware of where I am spending my money.

I have changed my shopping habits drastically since becoming a prepper, but I need to step it up a notch now and be even more aware and knowledgeable about how much the food is costing ever month.

My goal is to be able to go a whole month with just using the preps in my cupboards for the monthly meals - so I need to have a more accurate idea of what we are eating / using on a monthly basis and how much it all costs.

[triffid]

well with the organisation side of things, today I got up and got out my sharpie pen and numbered all the loo rolls. I am going to do the same with other stuff, especially the milk bottles in the fridge. I have some sort of idea of a rough number of how much we consume during one month - but I want to be more prepared with an absolute figure of what we use during one month, and then it will be to figure out how much a one month supply costs.

I am also starting a list of what meals I prepare for dinner, so that I have a meal plan for a month and what goes into the meal and then to figure out how much it all costs.

I really need to be more aware of where I am spending my money.

I have changed my shopping habits drastically since becoming a prepper, but I need to step it up a notch now and be even more aware and knowledgeable about how much the food is costing ever month.

My goal is to be able to go a whole month with just using the preps in my cupboards for the monthly meals - so I need to have a more accurate idea of what we are eating / using on a monthly basis and how much it all costs.

Blimey Maxilaura, numbering the loo rolls..... that is a bit, if you'll pardon the expression, anally retentive, even for a prepper !
(Still it could be worse ..... at least you are not numbering the sheets on each loo roll ....... yet!)
I did read, on this site, that you should slightly flatten (by squeezing) every loo roll - this results in it being less likely to 'andrex' and so you have to make a deliberate effort to use more than one sheet at a time.


But seriously it's always a good idea to think about what you spend.
If you have the spare cash try only buy anything when you see buying opportunities and then use these 'from stock'. What I mean is, where possible, buy in bulk and use up food from your stores rather than buying your meals etc one week at a time.

Look for offers at supermarkets etc (ie bog-offs etc). Lidl/Aldi do their weekly/weekend offers.

[tolerance]

Speaking as someone who has BI polar, I would say your mental health can be just as important if not more important in certain circumstances.

Prepping is a state of my mind, Some people prep through worry or what if situations. Others prep for the inevitable or just in case moments in life.

I work alone a lot of the time so during the day so I am quite often thinking about prepping or at least prepping related subjects such as the news or weather. Some people will probably find it quite depressing always thinking about epidemics or natural disasters or even just a power cut for a few hours, but I find a great deal of pleasure knowing that I would survive better than most in those situations.

I would be worried and depressed if I didn't have preps and where vulnerable to the unforeseen circumstances surrounding our way of life.


In general I think preppers have different way of looking at the world because we are not depressive, we don't want their to be a natural disaster or a huge power outage and so forth, but instead of moaning about it or seeking help if something does happen. We will have a greater understanding than most.

No one can 100 percent say how they would react in such a situation or behave, but being a prepper I think we will have an added confidence and trust in our ability to assess situations and be able to judge on how we move forward as people because as preppers we have a mind set where we look for solutions and not excuses.



Personally having Bi polar does not hold me back in my prepping, if the SHTF in a way in which people where looting or causing havoc in the streets then I would find it hard to adjust as I am quite a sensitive person and as my friends and family say a soft touch, so I would have to change my mentality and dare I say it become a little selfish and think of myself before others.

Bi polar causes you to have huge ups and huge downs, so some days I am more worried about prepping than others all in all though it kind of platos, So I have an average understanding and motivation for why I prep and what I am prepping for.

I am quite a half glass empty kind of guy generally so having that attitude I would never be surprised if something happened and we needed our preps but being pessimistic causes me to feel as if I have never got enough, whether its water, food, first aid supplies. I always have a part of me which says BUT WHAT IF THAT IS NOT ENOUGH.

In a SHTF scenario Itself though I think mental attitude will be very back to basic and it will be the little things that keep the morale high, Such as a deck of playing cards or a bar of chocolate. Their will be many ups and downs in a SHTF scenario, Depending on what that scenario is. But having BI polar life is up and down anyway... So am I mentally prepared ?


Dam right I am



Sorry if I rambled

[arnieh]

A good post tolerance, may I ask does bi-polar hamper your day to day life a great deal, also does gloomy/bad weather have an effect on you?

arnieh

[tolerance]

A good post tolerance, may I ask does bi-polar hamper your day to day life a great deal, also does gloomy/bad weather have an effect on you?

arnieh

Not in particular, I have tablets which I can take as and when if I feel too happy or to sad but 99 percent of the time I am just your normal guy on the street I guess.
I find as long as I live as stress free as I can my Bi Polar does not effect my day to day life at all. Touch wood...



The weather does not really effect me to be honest I much prefer winter in general though, As I prefer the darkness and coldness it brings....

[maxilaura]

Blimey Maxilaura, numbering the loo rolls..... that is a bit, if you'll pardon the expression, anally retentive, even for a prepper !
(Still it could be worse ..... at least you are not numbering the sheets on each loo roll ....... yet!)
I did read, on this site, that you should slightly flatten (by squeezing) every loo roll - this results in it being less likely to 'andrex' and so you have to make a deliberate effort to use more than one sheet at a time.


But seriously it's always a good idea to think about what you spend.
If you have the spare cash try only buy anything when you see buying opportunities and then use these 'from stock'. What I mean is, where possible, buy in bulk and use up food from your stores rather than buying your meals etc one week at a time.

Look for offers at supermarkets etc (ie bog-offs etc). Lidl/Aldi do their weekly/weekend offers.

I watched a tv programme the other day about ultimate cheapskates - the chap on there would buy a 2 ply pack of loo rolls and then split each roll into another one by unravelling it - so he would end up with two 1 ply rolls. That was funny.

The reason why I am doing all this is because last year I worked on getting my grocery bill down by about £250 a month - with buying the no name brands instead of the more expensive ones, using the buy-one-get-one free and coupons etc etc.

I was very pleased with what I achieved, but now it is time to actually see what I get for my money on a month to month basis - so that I can start with my 3 month stock up plan - its no good stocking loo rolls if you don't know how many your family actually uses in a month cause what if you don't stock the correct amount and your fall short? Im talking about the plans for the shtf events - so that I can use my stockpile happily knowing that I will actually have enough to get me through those first 3 months.