No, of course you couldn’t literally die of boredom. That’s not a thing. But life is hard. Life in an emergency is EXTRA hard. Depending on what’s going on, you may be fully engaged in a struggle to stay alive. Depending on what’s going on, you may be stuck in your house for weeks without electricity. Depending on what’s going on, you might be both (fully engaged and totally bored) in the same day. You’re going to need to keep a good attitude. You’re going to need to keep hope.
Hope is an important human emotion and a powerful motivator. It works in the best of times as we toil through work, fight through difficulties in our relationships, deal with routine daily crap, and prepare for the afterlife. Hope also provides perspective in times of suffering to help us endure until we’re not suffering anymore. If we lose hope in life, we get depressed. If we get depressed in an emergency, we may not be able to summon the will to keep going. If you’re like me, you have people counting on you. You need to keep going. You need to keep hope.
Depression is a medical condition, and I’m not a doctor. So I can’t just tell you to “Tough it Out.” But if you want to survive in an emergency, eventually you’re going to have to just get to the point where you tough it out. Sorry. The best bet is to keep your mind pointed in a positive direction, which will help prevent depression.
Don’t Get Bored To Death
Here are some strategies to help you keep your positive slant.
- Keep moving forward. Do the routine stuff that living people do. Brush your teeth. Clean up as well as you can. Eat. If you don’t have food, keep working to find food.
- Keep the fire burning. Unless heat-related illness is a possibility, start a fire. First of all, cold is an insidious monster. It will sap your motivation, make you tired, get you sick, and just generally bum you out. Second, fire is a primordial source of comfort. (Unless it’s really not…) (But maybe it kinda is…) Whether it’s evolutionary or not, fire is comforting. As long as it stays safe.
- Keep yourself distracted. Watch TV. Play video games. Read. Knit. Play cards. Throw cards in a hat. Whatever it is, find something to take your mind off of the situation.
- Get some help! It sucks being alone. Call your neighbor (or maybe walk over if the phones don’t work). They’re going through the same thing you are, and are probably happy to have you stop by. Maybe you can help each other out…
No matter what, don’t let it get you down. Keep your head up, and keep plugging.
Featured Image: Gaston La Touche, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
