Mental fitness

most of understand the importance of physical fitness in prepping,
how many of us take the time to think about our mental fitness?

how do we take care of that?
how do we prep our "upper region" for a shyt load of stress?
how do we lower our stress level?

must admit,that I have been working far to much,been the "good guy" who
takes an extra shift when someone is sick and being "this old goat"
it feels sometimes...sometimes when I come home I'm barely able
to scoop some food before I fall into bed.

so how do you do it?

I just try to take 30 minutes to unwind before I crawl in bed doing whatever the heck i want to. . . . Sometimes I need longer if I'm really having one of those 90 to nothing days. Seems like my mind just keeps going even when I lay my head down if I don't take a little time for myself.

I actually started thinking about this before I started thinking about the "things" I would need. I used to read stories about people who survived wars, horrible disasters, etc. when I was a teenager, and that's what always stuck out to me - the mentality and mental "toughness" that allowed them to survive.

Danil54grl said:

I just try to take 30 minutes to unwind before I crawl in bed doing whatever the heck i want to. . . . Sometimes I need longer if I'm really having one of those 90 to nothing days. Seems like my mind just keeps going even when I lay my head down if I don't take a little time for myself.

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I spend a lot of time on the internet researching all the million of things I don't know but feel I need to know. I had to make it a rule to stop researching and watch a movie or something relaxing, 2 hours before bed and to shut my mind down. If I get caught up in some research issue and forget the time, I can guarantee a restless sleep, as my mind continues to work on the issue. Take time for yourself, if you are getting too tired from the extra shifts, start turning down a few. The boss does not expect you to always be "The Guy", every time, it is okay to say "NO" a few times.

This is kind of funny. My wife knows of my struggle with trying to keep everything going around here by myself. And in particular dealing with being snowed in. Today she sent me a text (jokingly) telling me to hide all the knives and ropes. She's worried that at my age I'll have a heart attack or go nuts. She's younger than me so she's always rubbing it in.
Seriously, people should prepare themselves mentally as well as physically for any serious event that life may throw at them. My dog is always by my side, he helps to keep me sane.

mental fitness is one thing now, but post shtf many people wont be able to cope, the stress will be too much and they will go crazy. and crazy people will do crazy things.

I was thinking about this post while I was out at feeding time last night. While I was out there I was checking on guns and eyelids to see who might need to be getting wormed. But after doing the check I would give some extra loving to each one. . . Scratch between the horns, By their ears and along their jowl line. By petting on an animal releases happy endorphins, at least for me. Kinda of an uplifting my day kind of thing. Maybe this is why it seems like every time you turn around there is another animal here. That and if I start talking out load. I can always say I'm talking with them. . . Not myself. .

that's nothing...I talk to sheep! they probably think i'm crazy but I prefer animals to people any day.

This has made me reevaluate what my "Favorite Weapon" is in my profile. Of course it is my brain!

Everyone has some kind of stress reliever and it’s different for everyone. I guess the secret is to find what works for you. I definitely get a lot of peace from my dogs. Animals are probably one of the easiest things to get and give love from for me. I’ve tried meditation and didn’t get squat from it. Way too forced, and slow. I think one good thing about shtf would be people would be be working so much physically just to survive that they are probably going to be too tired to worry about depression or anxiety. I have another thing that works well for me. Anytime you’re ever worrying about something just think about our solar system. It’s huge. Now think about it just being one star in a galaxy of billions of stars. Even bigger. Now imagine that galaxy being one in billions of galaxies. Mind blowingly huge. So to put it in perspective, nothing going on on this little speck of a planet we call home really amounts to a hill of beans. Just relax and try to enjoy life some and don’t worry about little stuff. Works for me.

When I was 9, I started to develop an ulcer, since then I have stopped worrying about anything. What will be will be. I just try to plan ahead but I am not going to worry about anything. Old saying, slightly cleaned up. If i can't eat it, have sex with it, then pee on it. No worries, be happy.. Song lyric.

right now,for me it's music...as my contract for work puts me in a position,where my boss can ask me to jump and the only correct answer is from my part ; how high and what direction
luckily most of my co-workes are super.

but my dear friends,thx for all the answers and tips sofar,appreciate it alot.

Urbanprep said:

When I was 9, I started to develop an ulcer, since then I have stopped worrying about anything. What will be will be. I just try to plan ahead but I am not going to worry about anything. Old saying, slightly cleaned up. If i can't eat it, have sex with it, then pee on it. No worries, be happy.. Song lyric.

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What the hell is there to worry about when your 9?

Brent S said:

What the hell is there to worry about when your 9?

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Very difficult childhood, home life not very stable. Bio-mom, never nominated for mother of the year.

that is shyt...prolly one major reason I quit drinking was for the kids,might not be husband of the year material,but was a decent dad.

Urbanprep said:

Very difficult childhood, home life not very stable. Bio-mom, never nominated for mother of the year.

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The kid we hired had a crack who’re for a mother. He finally moved to his dads and had a stepmom that was cold and hard, but at least fed him. If anyone was likely to turn out bad he was a candidate, yet he is a hardworking decent young man now. So the moral of this story is no matter what life throws at you, if you decide to you can overcome it. Sorry you had a rough start as well.

Brent S said:

The kid we hired had a crack who’re for a mother. He finally moved to his dads and had a stepmom that was cold and hard, but at least fed him. If anyone was likely to turn out bad he was a candidate, yet he is a hardworking decent young man now. So the moral of this story is no matter what life throws at you, if you decide to you can overcome it. Sorry you had a rough start as well.

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Thank you but it did make me a survivor. All things happen for a reason. I fix what I can fix. I forget what I can't fix. Then I simply plan for the future. I Live a simple life, no melodrama.

Urbanprep said:

Thank you but it did make me a survivor. All things happen for a reason. I fix what I can fix. I forget what I can't fix. Then I simply plan for the future. I Live a simple life, no melodrama.

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That's the best kind of life you can live. . .plain and simple. Lift up and support the ones you love and hold on to those relationships dearly. I know some that thrive in chaos, always wanting and creating melodrama. Drives me crazy to have to see a loved one who has to put up with it. I just want to go knock the cra p out of my loved ones spouse.