Elements of Self-Reliance: Part 1
You might be wondering when you signed up for this newsletter… let me explain.
Adaptive Living started life as “Brace Yourself”.
The newsletter, recently reformatted, focuses on adapting to economic instability, food shortages, societal upheaval, and governmental indifference. Increased self-sufficiency is our goal. We look at skills that make a difference in an unstable future. We examine how we can do more for ourselves, no matter where we live. We discuss ways to be more prepared, ways to increase awareness of the world around us, and how to be less reliant on the systems that try to dictate how we should live.
Today I want to talk about being self-reliant.
The Britannica Dictionary defines self-reliant as;
Being confident in your own abilities and able to do things for yourself: not needing help from other people.
The dictionary further defines self-sufficiency as;
Being able to live or function without help or support from others.
Even pioneers needed their neighbors from time to time, and in this day and age, it just isn’t realistic for most of us to expect that we can live without help from others. We can, however, strive to increase our self-reliance. One of the most obvious ways is to grow some of our own food. I say “some” because we all have different living arrangements. A creative person living in an apartment with a 12’ south-facing balcony has the potential to grow far more than someone who lives in a basement apartment. It’s not impossible for the basement dweller to raise food, but there are challenges. But we’ll circle back around to food in a minute.
One of the other aspects of self-reliance is health.
It wasn’t too many generations ago that an untreated cut could be a serious concern, even leading to death. Modern hygiene and medicine have made that same cut a small matter.
But play “what-if?” with me for a moment.
What if you break a glass while doing dishes, it slips in the soapy water, and you cut yourself?
It doesn’t seem like that big a deal, you don’t think you need stitches, you pat it dry on the dishtowel and go watch a movie. The next day, the cut is red, swollen and sore. You ignore it as best you can and go on about your day. The day after, the area around the cut is warm and really painful. The day after, the red area is bigger and you’re pretty sure something isn’t right. But you don’t have a doctor, so what should you do?
One of the best ways to address this question is to take a first-aid course offered by public health units, fire departments, the Red Cross, St. John’s Ambulance, and Safety Councils. The next thing you can do is to get a copy of “The Survival Medicine Handbook: The Essential Guide for When Help is NOT on the Way”, by Joseph & Amy Alton.
This book will teach you how to handle far more than nosebleeds and bad cuts. You’ll learn about food & water-borne illnesses, heat-related emergencies (vitally important in this time of planetary warming), infections, allergic reactions, high blood pressure, natural pain relief, burns, sprains, and more serious medical problems. While the paperback version can seem daunting, this book is available in e-book format. It’s a massive tome filled with all kinds of knowledge you may not think you need but might help you save a life someday. I’ll go further into this book in another post, but for now, rest assured that the book is worth the money.
Part of increasing our self-reliance is in learning what is serious, and what we can take care of ourselves. Learn the signs of heart attack, in both men & women, because the signs vary between genders. Learn the signs of stroke. FAST. Do you know what the acronym means? Learn, and memorize it.
F = Face Drooping – Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person's smile uneven?
A = Arm Weakness – Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S = Speech Difficulty – Is speech slurred?
T = Time to call 911 – Stroke is an emergency. Every minute counts. Call 911 immediately. Note the time when any of the symptoms first appear.
Watch for Sudden:
NUMBNESS or weakness of face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
CONFUSION, trouble speaking or understanding speech
TROUBLE SEEING in one or both eyes
TROUBLE WALKING, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
SEVERE HEADACHE with no known cause
(The above information was taken from the American Stroke Association website)
Treating a small cut is one thing, but self-assessing something big like chest pains or a sudden slurring of words should not be attempted at home. Compile a first-aid kit. Learn first-aid so you can be knowledgeable, prepared, and confident enough to treat what you can, but don’t hesitate to seek professional help when necessary.
Also important is hygiene. Staying clean, teeth, body & hair, will help you and your loved ones avoid issues brought on by being unclean. Not to mention, folks will like you better. No one wants to share a bus with someone who hasn’t bathed in two weeks. Cleanliness is also important for your own state of mind, too. It also affects things like employment, service in restaurants, and self-respect.
More importantly, just the simple act of washing your hands properly can slow the spread of colds, Salmonella, E. coli, COVID-19, and norovirus. (I’ve had both of those latter illnesses thanks to someone in my household not washing their hands, and neither of them were easy to deal with) Brushing your teeth often will result in a healthier mouth, reduced dental issues, and fewer visits to the dentist. So there are a lot of good reasons to stay clean!
There are more elements of self-reliance than just these, and they require a lot more room, so I’ll be breaking it all up. This is part 1. In part 2, we’ll talk about how you can increase your self-reliance and build your own food web.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can do everything needed to be self-reliant.
Do what you can, where you can, as you can.
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Please tell your friends about Adaptive Living, and help them be more self-reliant as well!
Thanks for spending time with me today,