How Emergency Preparedness Helps Your Mental Health
Emergency preparedness is one of those things that you don’t think about until it is already at your doorstep. It is what leads to panic buying before a hurricane and being stuck with massive amounts of debt. Something that isn’t often talked about though is the effect that being prepared for an emergency has on your mental health.
Think about the last emergency you had before COVID, more than likely it was related to your car. Cars always seem to have something go wrong with them at the worst time. Were you able to pay for it to be fixed without having to take out a loan or ask for help? Were you able to do it without worrying what the added expense would do to your ability to pay bills? What I’m talking about is the peace of mind that comes from being able to just fix a problem that comes up and not have to worry about it. The peace of mind that comes from having an emergency fund.
At the very least every family should have a $1,000 emergency fund to fall back on. This is money whose sole purpose in life is to fix things when they need being fixed in a hurry. AC goes out in the middle of summer? Emergency fund. Son needs new baseball cleats the day before the big championship game? Emergency fund.
Emergency preparedness isn’t just about money.
You should also be prepared for whatever natural disasters your area might face. Do you live in one of the states that might get hurricanes, tornados, or even earthquakes? Does your area have a fire season or a flood season? Know what threats there are in your area and be ready for them. The CDC recommends that every household has at least 3 days of emergency supplies on hand at all times. That means enough food, water, medicine, and whatever else you might need to last you three days. But, if you know that it might be weeks before the power is back on after a hurricane, then be prepared for living without power for that long.
When you know that you and your family are safe there is a peace of mind that has a profound impact on your mental health, and the mental health of your children. If you’re going out before a big storm to panic buy, your children may start panicking too. But, if you’re prepared you can stay home and take care of things you would have otherwise had to ignore. Your kids will see this and while they still might be scared, they will know you have things taken care of.
How do you prepare for emergencies? It is my hope that you are comfortable in the knowledge that if something does go wrong, there’s no need to be stressed if you prepare. Besides, stress can have a knock on effect on your kids as well.
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LaToyia, The Motivated Mom
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