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The dangerous circumstances we find ourselves living through in the coming months and years might include encounters with hardened criminals, opportunists, and those who have lost their grip on reality due to the stress of the situation. It only takes one bad guy to ruin your life.
If you’re like millions of other patriots making plans for surviving a natural or man-made disaster, you’ve probably done so with the expectation of having family, friends or others on your ‘team’ to help you through the unpredictable and possibly dangerous times ahead. Having a community of like-minded people to work with, communicate with and rely on can dramatically increase your survival chances and improve your overall quality of life.
However, circumstances might be such that you’re all on your own. Maybe your friends and family live in another city or state, or the disaster(s) separate you. Perhaps you live in a community but don’t know or trust those around you. Whatever the cause, you might find yourself isolated and on your own. I want to cover a few things you should think about, and some possible preparations you might take.
Maintaining your sanity when there has been a catastrophe is key to survival and well-being.Addressing physical needs usually come first. You probably already have a food cache, weapons and some basic communication. However, people need more than just basic survival; we need emotional and spiritual comfort. You should be accumulating for your survival cache spiritual food as well. This may come in the form of your bible, spiritual reading, mementoes of loved ones and better times, or even a iPod or MP3 player (just keep in mind your need for batteries or electricity to recharge). Having faith in something other than yourself is crucial for enduring difficult times and preparing for an extended life in dramatically altered conditions.
You must be able to defend yourself and your living quarters. There is safety in numbers, so one of the things you’ll want to do is to project the image that you’re not alone. If you have electricity, you can do this with a radio, TV, CD or computer. You want to emphasize vocal sounds, and use timers to turn appliances on and off. This is not simply to make the home look occupied while away, but to give the appearance that more people live there than really do. Once your focus is on defending the property, you’ll want to look at your windows and see how they can be secured, which doesn’t necessarily entail bars.
Be creative, and use decorative glass that would make it more difficult for someone to pop out a screen and push up a window. Plant strong, thorny branches under all your windows, and put a dog dish and other signs that a dog lives with you, even if you don’t have one. Criminals fear dogs as much as they do an armed homeowner. There is also a film you can put across your windows that prevents them from shattering, which can make entry more difficult for an intruder.
If you can put up fences or build a safe room, you’re becoming even more defensible. Abandon and seal off as best you can any rooms in your building that you’re not using so you have fewer entry points to defend. Choose multiple points in the building to hide your supplies, so if you’re cornered you’re not at risk of running out. You might be able to wait out an attacker who is in a hurry and isn’t carrying food and water for a siege.
Finally, keep a low profile. If they don’t know you’re there, or know you’re there but don’t know what they’re dealing with, they’ll probably move on to an easier target.
Make plans to survive even if the electricity is off long-term. This can be a difficult one for even the most prepared of survivors. If you haven’t procured a long-term, renewable energy source, you’re going to run out of batteries or fuel eventually. At this point, you might be better off making it appear that the building is abandoned. You’ll have to make sure you don’t cook outdoors in a way that might create a lot of smoke, and your entry and exits will have to be cautious so as not to attract attention.
Decide whether ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ is the best strategy. You need to consider your own strengths and weaknesses, as well as your surroundings, and decide whether you are better served by remaining in your home and fighting off intruders, or whether you should flee.
If you have purchased firearms and/or other weapons, you need to ask yourself whether you’re really ready to use them on another human being. Additionally, are you skilled with the weapons in question? Having a closet full of weapons and ammunition won’t do any good if you aren’t trained and familiar with them in a situation you are likely to encounter.
Sometimes it is better to flee than to stay and fight. Perhaps you’re not up to the task to kill another human being in defense of your property. Or maybe the thought of dealing with that kind of threat might simply weigh too heavily on your mind. These are things you need to think about, pray about, and consider beforehand. It might be that your plan is to move as quickly as possible to a place where you will have the support of a community.
