If over the past three years you’ve followed instructions to make DIY face masks out of anything, including a bra, hosted cocktail parties on Zoom, downloaded apps to queue at the supermarket, disinfected, flushed swabs, vaccinated, or filled up with ibuprofen in the must, it’s time to admit it: you are survivors, like almost all of humanity. No one knows better than us what it means to prepare for deal with adversity. Then of all the possible apocalyptic scenarios, the pandemic we have just lived through is certainly one of the worst, but not the only one.
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To remind us with salvation practical sense not devoid of black humor, I Joshua Piven AND David Borgenichtauthors At worst. Emergency Survival Guide, a longseller released for the first time in the US back in 1999, which, after various updates, also made its way to Italy (just published by Blackie Edizioni). An editorial success with 10 million copies sold (and as many lives saved as advertised) in response to a desire most of us didn’t think we had before Covid: to survive in the worst of circumstances.
The list of extreme situations that need to be corrected is an escalation of unlikely events, but some may be less improbable than others in retrospect. We find instructions for working with in-flight emergencies – from snakes between seats to screaming children – and those who remained unharmed from a railway accident; how to escape attacked by a swarm of beessave yourself from one tsunami, jump out of a moving car, survive if the phone falls into the toilet (a real disaster). A list of hidden dangers that seem to be inspired by key scenes from the best apocalyptic movies is daunting, but detailed solutions provided by certified experts and accompanied by step-by-step diagrams sound just as reassuring as the announcements. flight attendants during mild turbulence.
“Several studies have confirmed that our will to survive has changed, not so much because of the pandemic itself, but because of the restrictive measures taken, lockdown, social distancing, masks,” he notes. Fabio Sbattella, psychologist and psychotherapist, professor of emergency psychology at the Catholic University of Milan and author of several essays. “All these measures have had a profound impact on the entire population, but they are acting selectively. The difference does not depend on the structural characteristics of people, but on social and generational factors: adolescents, for example, suffered greatly because isolation prevented them from solving the existential problems among their peers that were necessary for the growth process. A year after the end of social distancing, the demand for psychological support and medicines has grown anxiety (plus 20 percent), depression and eating disorders.” Conversely, there are those who have matured and even improved. “Many have learned to take care of themselves, to protect themselves: the state of alertness has led to a greater awareness of their own fragility,” says the expert.
From this point of view, know how to break free from the grip of an alligator (hug him and punch him in the face) or break down the door (a couple of kicks near the castle) or again, what technique is best for jump off a building when landing on soft ground (throwing into a trash can preferably full), it can always come in handy. Yes, the world is full of dangers, but thank you for emergency imprintingit seems we have developed a new skill – to prepare for the worst. Thus, while disturbing news fills our social media feeds and the future gathers radioactive clouds full of ominous omens instead of distracting us dystopian series more reassuring than the reality that surrounds us, it is better to learn how to navigate without GPS, looking at the sun or swimming in the snow stay alive under an avalanche.
“Fear is a healthy emotion, a sign of awareness, but it must be balanced with courage, which is a cultural attitude. You have to be clear about what danger is, be afraid of it, prepare to confront it and accept the risk that it can go wrong,” notes Sbattella, who has worked in various fields as an emergency psychologist by profession. risk, devastated. wars, earthquakes and tsunamis. “Paradoxically, in the dangerous place for which I have prepared myself, I am more calm than in everyday life, outwardly calm. Those who work in extreme conditions know what to do to protect themselves and take responsibility for their choices, tackling one problem at a time.”
Today’s trouble, perhaps, is just this: due to the constant flow of disturbing information we are exposed to (the algorithm rewards them), solving one problem at a time is not possible. New deadly viruses, wars, economic crises and energy, climate change, earthquakesfamines, floods and other disasters that occur in all parts of the globe feed our anxieties daily, increasing the level of perceived emergency.
“Only catastrophes attract our attention. We want them, we need them, we depend on them. As long as they happen somewhere else,” writes Don DeLillo in White noise, a novel in which he explores the impact of the poison cloud threat on the lives of a university professor and his family, as well as the lifestyle of the American consumer. A book published in 1985, but so relevant that the director Noah Baumbach in 2022, he decided to make a film about it. However, since the 1980s, we have discovered that the catastrophe could be global. And that the new consumerism is about the news, as long as it is catastrophic.
“Many, including many young people, after an emergency experience paralyzed by fear therefore they cease to live for fear of death. But life itself is dangerous: we should appreciate more dimension of courage invites Sbattella. Handbooks that teach how to overcome adversity with what’s available are welcome as long as they help calm anxiety into a vital “do it yourself” thing. They work better than benzodiazepines, have no side effects, and offer much cheaper solutions than benzodiazepines. bunker close to home (with the conflict in Ukraine, requests increased by 300 percent). And for the especially anxious there are courses bushcraftoutdoor survival techniques taught by professional survivalists registered with trade associations.
Between Rambo 3.0 and matchless fire experts however, you can meet conspiracy theorists with a certain unsettling passion for weapons. Born in the USA (where they never stopped supporting Donald Trump) and i also increases here prepper they prepare for future and possible emergencies, buoyed by the belief that “society can collapse at any moment.” On one of the specialized sites, a featured article says: “We do not paranoid”, in an attempt to dispel more than reasonable doubts. Then it is better to return to seeking refuge in the pages of our guide, which also teaches us to recognize fake news sites (watch out for the abuse of capital letters and exclamation marks) and to understand if you are a victim gaslight (lying looking to the left). First of all, Piven and Borgenicht explain how to recognize a killer clown (any reference to Stephen King may be intentional): if he has a baseball bat and sharp teeth, he should run away. But that’s just the worst case scenario.
Photograph taken in Abruzzo, near areas hit by the 2009 earthquake, by photographer Stefano Cerio, taken from his latest book. Eaglepublished by Hatye Kanz.
Source: Elle