How do a prepare mentally for war?

Hey! We’re probably the same age and grew up in the same country.

I went to a military boarding school and while I never took up my place at office training I had a glimpse at what being cold, wet, tired and hungry all while having a rifle to hold and an “enemy” to scout.

You’re right, it’s absolutely horrible (even without fearing for your life) but you’d be amazed what you’re able to deal with and accomplish when you have no choice.

The instinct to survive is enormous and you’re seeing this right now in the Ukrainian people - you think they were ready for this?

Of course they weren’t, but they are pulling together, drawing strength from community, history, patriotism and dealing with what’s in front of them as best they can.

If the same happens to us (and if the UK government is drafting people then it’ll be such a dire situation that your life will already look unrecognisable) then we too will find the strength in the same things and you’ll work it out.

Honestly though, I doubt it will come to that. This is far from over but it’s a long way still to air raid sirens in the midlands and us getting shipped off to fight.

If you’re out of shape though, start running - build up slow if you’re really out of shape so you don’t get injured but being able to run and have stamina is one thing that can make a huge difference in your performance if needs be. You’ll also get used to doing things that aren’t nice or comfortable.

I'm from a region close to the conflict, that's been mentioned a few times in recent headlines. Before all this, I was sure I'd flee at the first sign of trouble; get my family and just move somewhere West. Now, as the conflict progresses, and I feel my way of life attacked, I feel a certain flame inside that I've never felt and not sure where it came from. My plan has since updated to:

- Get up to speed with my fitness as I've been slacking for almost a decade; already started morning / evening routine. Nothing fancy, just getting some strenght, mobility and endurance back;

- Fully check-up my car and keep it loaded, spacious and ready to go; also would have some survival gear inside the trunk; I already have thermal blankets and gear that helps me camp for a week. So that should help. It's also tightly packed;

- Use a spare apartment I have a storage for non-perishable food, hygiene necessities and what you might call a prep kit. Some iodine tablets, medicine, band aids etc;

- Stock up my grandparent's house in the country side;

The moment shit hits the fan, I plan to:

- Jump in car, fill it with family, and do some back and forths (if petrol allows) to get everyone as far away as possible;

- Get back and join an armed paramilitary group;

- Die for my family, friends and western ideals without thinking twice about it.

This is of course speculative and I might crawl into a ball and get shelled to oblivion but I've never thought myself of having these thoughts, especially with my nihilistic mindset. I've never for a second thought about my nation, or dying for my leaders, they can all go to hell, but imagining my family going through a humanitarian crisis... just fills me with a resolve and sense of pre-determination that I'm not sure how it would translate, but god damn it I feel like I'd be a vicious beast towards an attacker, war crimes be damned.

> If nuclear war happened, assuming I survived I'm not sure I'd be able to cope with the real suffering that would follow.

Humans are very adaptable. You have no idea what you're capable of (and hopefully you won't find out) but I expect you'd surprise yourself.

I don't think there's any point in trying to prepare nor do I think we'll see a world war anytime soon much less a nuclear war.

> I am scared and I've not been able to focus on anything else since this conflict started.

Go for a run. Read a book. Stop reading the news for a day.

Okay, I think I can give some advice here.

I grew up very poor in a bad home. I was homeless as a teenager, so I joined the Marine Corp Infantry. I did multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, including being involved in real combat. Now I live a very comfortable life thanks to spending the last 10 years as a software engineer at top companies.

1. People always 'find their level' with their current situation. After an initial period of stress, you just sort of accept your current circumstances as normal. I'm sure there's a psychological term for it.

2. The main failure mode I've observed in others is focusing on things outside of their control. Stress builds when you spend your time trying to influence or control something that you fundamentally can't change. Learning to accept your circumstances and limit your focus to how you'll respond to them is probably the single most important survival skill you can have. I'm not sure how to teach someone this, maybe others will have an idea.

3. People desperately crave purpose. Feeling like you have a purpose, regardless of what it is, will get you through the toughest times. It doesn't have to be complicated; it could be as simple as wanting to have children, serving a God, making people happy, or searching for a specific piece of knowledge to add to humanity. If you don't know what your purpose is, then I would suggest focus your time on figuring that out.

4. When times are hard, people are close. If you want to prepare for uncertainty don't go all doomsday prepper. Instead focus on building a strong and local social circle. Feel like you are part of a community.

5. Perspective helps blunt the shock of change. If your life experiences are limited to a relatively narrow band of human experience, then you're susceptible to large emotional swings as your body processes new experiences. Gaining perspective can be difficult but try traveling and reading history.

6. Don't underestimate the importance of physical fitness. Go for a walk, lift some weights, get some sunlight.

I don't think I'm prepared mentally for war

With rare exceptions I would be surprised if most claiming to be mentally prepared for war are telling the truth in my opinion. Exceptions being the few that live for combat. For some drugs and alcohol become coping mechanisms via escapism. For some prepping gives the mind a feeling of accomplishment.

One might find a pinch of solace in talking to or training with friends that have combat experience. So maybe that's one possible answer. See if you have any war veterans in your circle of friends that you can talk to. If nothing else they might help you eliminate unknowns and help you determine what you have some control over and what measures might give you a small advantage over others and help provide some grounding in reality.

I wrote a meditation course based on the practices which kept me sane (ish) when I was working intensely on nuclear terrorism, worst case scenario pandemics and similar cheerful topics.

http://files.howtolivewiki.com/.meditation_2015/transcripts/...

Worth noting it’s drawn from Hindu rather than Buddhist sources, so it assumes that life can be good and humanity is not inherently flawed. Meditation gets a bad rep because the underlying Buddhist superstructure often puts people off, but different traditions use similar techniques in different ways.

I suggest you start by watching the series 'Band of Brothers' and its follow up 'The Pacific'. True stories from WWII of ordinary men training for combat and enduring extreme situations. Key takeaways are: physical training, become as fit as you can possibly be; skills training appropriate to the situation; and most importantly: you don't go through this alone, you need a team that has your back, united in a common goal and driving each other to give their best.

In the luxury of peacetime our culture has been free to dismiss all forms of masculinity as toxic. These real life heroes tell a different story.

There's a saying in the US military: "Embrace the suck". Sometimes, life sucks. Deal with it. Perhaps not the best for long-term mental health, but definitely a viable mental survival strategy.

I'm not prepared either, but I had a much less sheltered childhood, so I hope the shock would be lessened for me.

You need a punch to your face -- reading books isn't going to help.

My advice to you: don't try to prepare. You'd have to kill and overcome the man you are now. You don't need to be Rambo. You can be the bloated corpse floating in the pond just as well. The universe won't care if you extended your life for a few measly years. Relax, watch some TV and drink some soda pop. Contine tuning out reality as you've been doing your whole life.

First, take a dose of realism:

Russia is in terrible shape. Their military is a shambles, their equipment is garbage and poorly maintained, and their nuclear arsenal is just as bad. They couldn't launch most of it even if they wanted to, and would likely accidentally nuke themselves if they did.

Putin vastly overestimated his military's ability and equipment (he thought he could take Ukraine in a single day - it's been 2 weeks). Now he knows better, which is why Russia has been barking so loudly instead of acting, threatening everyone under the sun, saying "X is an act of war", "Y is an act of war" etc etc. You only bark that loud when you've got nothing to back it up.

There will be no nuclear armageddon. The Ukraine conflict will stay there, the rest of the world will funnel in arms but not soldiers, and Russia will tire herself out over the next months/years fighting an expensive insurgency just like they did in Afghanistan (except they're in even worse shape now). And America and Europe are perfectly happy with such an outcome because it's a cheap win for them, which is why they're dragging this out.

Stop worrying and get back to your life.

Man's Search for Meaning

https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27s_Search_for_Meaning

While nobody knows for sure what the future holds, both nuclear war and a draft in the UK seem highly unlikely

Try some stoic books maybe? There are ancient ones like [0]. I don't know any moderns ones.

[0] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius

More likely too late but I would just hang out here and absorb as much knowledge as possible.

https://www.reddit.com/r/preppers/

For me the start of getting back to normal was someone telling me, as I am telling you, that this is classic anxiety and not what you would be thinking about in a million years if you hadn't got yourself into a phase of anxiety. This isn't normal, this vision is not realistic, look into relaxation methods and anxiety remedies rather than bunker plans. The all being in your head is something you're going to reject and protest but hopefully the seed will be planted and you'll be able to start noticing other signs and eventually find relief in accepting that

Why pull down your pants when the ford is still far away? You being drafted is extremely unlikely... however, if you want to be mentally prepared, consider this the preparation. You feel anxious (me too). In a few days, we will get used to it. And when something even tougher comes, we will get used to it too. You are already a lot tougher than you were two years ago - you just survived global pandemic.

It often helps to do something with others instead of worrying at home. Any chance there is some refugee center close to where you live where you could help Ukrainians or someone?

> I don't know how to mentally prepare myself for what might come and I'm not the kind of person who can just switch off and distract themselves at times like this.

> Is there anything I can do to better prepare myself mentally for what might come?

I'm not sure that you need to prepare to a war. It seems to me that what you need is to adapt to the world as it is right now. Or maybe to learn how to adapt. The only advice I can give you is to visit psychologist. I cannot be more specific because people are different, and what works for one wouldn't work for an other. For example, I'm good at switching and distracting myself, it works for me, but not for you. You need something else and psychotherapist can help you to understand how your anxiety works, and hopefully to find some techniques that would help you. In any case just talking openly about your fears and anxieties has a therapeutic effect, and with psychologist you will talk a lot.

The only caveat: you need a psychotherapist who doesn't try to solve every issue with a medication. You need to talk first, to explore ways to treat your anxieties yourself. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is good for fears and anxiety.

If nuclear war happened there probably wouldn't be a government to draft you. And I don't think you have to fear being drafted into a conventional one considering the power of NATO.

Also, as far as nuclear strikes go, I thought this video was a bit informative:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox8ZDbCNTCE

> I'm terrified that the world I was raised for will not be my future. I am scared and I've not been able to focus on anything else since this conflict started.

Paying attention to the warfront is not a bad idea. Letting it consume your attention is a different matter altogether. Folks had to learn an entirely new way of living -- and part of staying mentally healthy is focusing on healthy activities. So, perhaps you've got experience with that. Apply it here. Limit your time consuming news. Find something productive to do. Put your phone in the microwave if you need help with that discipline. Go outside, ride a bike or something.

If there is a war, maintaining some mental discipline will be absolutely necessary to stay okay. It won't be business as usual, but cling to any reasonable sense of normalcy that you can find. You still need to eat, sleep, and find ways of entertaining yourself. Even the kids who survived WWII played games.

Focus on taking care of things that you can control and learn to let go of everything else. Everybody's gotta die sometime.

> Is there anything I can do to better prepare myself mentally for what might come?

1. Jog while listening to the soundtrack from Rocky.

2. Watch Threads while eating lamb chops.

3. Preventative maintenance on your automobile. (or: get an automobile)

4. Push ups.

5. Look for inspiration and/or motivational material in entirely the wrong place. (ahem)

I live in country which is on the verge of war with one of its neighbors on and off for as much as I can remember. I don’t feel prepared, aside from the fact that I served in the army as a civilian because it’s mandatory for all adult males. I’ve experienced high alert situations while serving and it felt awkward. I was half scared, half hyped and alerted. The possibility of a nuclear war worries me, but it’s beyond my control so I don’t trouble myself with it. The possibility of a conventional war on the other hand doesn’t bother me. If it happens I’ll do my duty and serve my country making sure that everyone and everything that threatens what I love will perish. And that is that.

One aspect is to understand the vagaries of injury, death, and sadism, so that your mind won't break (as hard?) when you come face to face with it.

Before it got banned, the subreddit /r/WatchPeopleDie had lots of videos and pictures from the ISIS conflict, drug gang violence, industrial accidents, car accidents, and all kinds of other stuff.

It was really eye opening, especially when paired with the comments. Not sure if it's archived somewhere online but other websites offer this type of content too. Best consumed in small doses!

> If nuclear war happened, assuming I survived I'm not sure I'd be able to cope with the real suffering that would follow.

You don’t need to worry about this. It’s called Mutually Assured Destruction for a reason. There are enough nuclear weapons between the US and Russia to literally destroy every inch of the world 20 times over.

So don’t stress yourself out about your post-apocalypse skills. Anyone making prepper plans for actual nuclear war is living in denial. There are very few scenarios where life isn’t wiped off the planet.

This might sound weird but people sometimes use strange mental tricks to calm themselves down - it helps me think of it as me being a little part of history. My grandmother lived through world war and occupation by Germans, revolution, counter-revolution, invasion and occupation by Russians, another revolution, unusually long stretch of pretty good years and global pandemic. So far I only have one occupation, revolution and global pandemic under my belt. But who knows what the future holds.

Pretty much the lowest yield nuke will get any city either in the initial explosion or in the blast wave. Especially the balloon 2x4 construction that is everywhere. I've looked up what would be valid and realized there is no point in worrying about it. I'll certainly be gone in a flash if anywhere in my city is hit. https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/

War is not pandemic, but it’s recent life changing event we are all living through. I find it telling nobody even mentions it in this thread. There has been some scary moments, feeling that things are globally off the rails, lots of casualties, lost loved ones, major inconviniences to normal life, but overall we have adjusted. I think long term there will be lots of issues caused by pandemic, but day to day it’s hard to keep panicing about it.

Live one day at a time. Consume news to stay abreast of the events and to keep aware, but only sufficient for that purpose -- do not dwell or doomscroll. Eat a healthy diet. Your job, family, and home should fill all your other time. Exercise and sleep. Be deliberate about all these.

We can't control what may come, but maintaining as much of that in our immediate sphere is the best one can do for sanity.

I believe people often find strength they didn't know they had in such occassions. So far, you've never really been tested so you don't know what you're capable of.

In truly dire circumstances, the motivation to survive another day, month, year till the war ends carries people through. I believe the fact that things that really matter (i.e. your life, life of loved ones) and for once at stake and not just BS distractions like jobs or money really kicks up the motivation.

Nuclear holocaust is probably different because there's nothing to look forward to, but that's a very unlikely scenario (and, even if it happens, you're likely to be among the quick casualties anyway).

To be really prepared for a war, not just having a shelter full of supplies and weapons, means one has already experienced a war, which often changes people's life for the worst. So I'm not sure I would want to be prepared.

Go to the park and start running. The faster you run from crazy people, the better

Keep Calm and Carry On

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Calm_and_Carry_On

This purported leak from an FSB officer says nuclear war won't happen. Of course, I can't vouch for this but it's food for thought. Nuclear war won't happen because:

1) It would take more than one man (Putin) to launch and not all would agree to a launch

2) There is doubt that the nuclear launch system even works because it is not maintained very well

3) They would refuse to launch because Putin trusts no one, let's no one near him and has no friends. No one wants to die for Putin

4) (my addition) A lot of Russians are opposed to what is happening so Putin doesn't know who will do what he says

https://pastebin.com/2agMRGmd

Join the army, I’d imagine they’d have a few tricks to get you ready.

Even then I’d say many people aren’t ready.

Move to the Falklands.

Realize that right now, everyone is telling ghost stories.

It will. Not. Happen.

Russia has lost the war already, due to their logistical failure. There is no recovery.

Putin has no choice but to stop. He can’t escalate because it wouldn’t make any progress.

You need to snap out of it for your own well being. Consider this some tough love.

Here’s what’s going to happen. In two months, news will fade, or have faded. In six months, people will occasionally reference the war.

In one year, you’ll realize that right now, we all sound as foolish as those people who tried to buy 500 rolls of toilet paper during peak covid. As if we couldn’t wash ourselves in the shower if worse came to worst.

The flip side of it is, nothing you do to prepare will matter if it happens. Which it won’t. So close Orange Website and play a game, read a book, write some music, get drunk, or just watch Netflix. You know, the standard weekend stuff.

That’s how to prepare for ww3. I doubt there’s a more optimal strategy for the non ultra wealthy.