What do you do in an emergency?
I have mentioned many times before, as people with Bipolar we need to have a plan. In cases of rapid cycling of our emotions, severe depression, or extreme mania.
But do you have a plan when things go sideways and you find yourself in a natural disaster, civil unrest, or other calamity?
I am a big fan of prepping and survival. I am not a prepper myself nor am I survivalist. What I am is practical. Playing the odds, and depending in what part of the country that you are in, there is very likely a natural or other disaster waiting to happen.
If you are on the west coast you run the risk of an earthquake striking. On the east coast you have the chance of hurricanes each year. And the Midwest has tornados.
Of course there are many other natural disasters out there like a bad winter stranding you at home. What is key to note is that what would you do if you were stranded in your home for more than a few days, or worst yet, stranded away from home?
Now is the time to put a plan in place and make some preparations ahead of time. If you don’t you will find yourself stuck in your home for a week wishing that you had refilled your meds.
We can’t know what will happen, nor can we prepare for all contingencies. But there are a few simple plans you can have in place just in case the worst happens, like Elvis impersonating monkeys with machine guns taking over the government.
First, have at least a week’s supply of medications in reserve. This is in addition to what you normally have in the medicine cabinet. And rotate your stock every month so that you don’t end up with expired meds if those monkeys do take over the United States.
Next, have all your important numbers written down and kept with your emergency supply of meds. Numbers like your primary care doctor, psychiatrist , therapist, and next of kin who can make medical decisions if you are incapacitated. You never know when you will not have access to your cell phone and the last thing you want is to not have your doctor’s number because your cell phone is dead.
Third, with your meds and phone number have a emergency medical kit. In addition to the normal first aid supplies, also include any medical goods that you must have such as catheters, syringes, and other supplies. You never know when you may need them, especially if you have to bug out of your home.
There are many more items to have at the ready, such as food and water which is important if you are diabetic. I could spend pages going over an extensive list of things to store but really you know what your needs are better than I do.
These are just the basics that you must have on hand even if you have nothing else.
I will go over what to do if you are caught in an emergency when you are away from home, as well as what to do in a psychiatric emergency in later blogs.
The Bipolar DM 