The first course of action in mentally preparing yourself for a disaster is not to become panic-stricken at the prospect that a disaster could strike at any time. It is a reality of this planet and life that disasters do happen. But agonizing over when they may happen and where you will be when they do, is not a recipe for living well and happily. Assuage your fears by becoming as prepared as possible mentally now, to cope better in the midst of a disaster should you find yourself in one.

Doing such things as preparing a disaster kit and making a disaster plan of where family members will meet if a disaster happens, or how you will contact one another should you be separated at the time, not only helps you to prepare mentally for a disaster, but helps to prepare the whole family mentally in the event that a disaster should happen. Practicing things such as quickly locating your disaster kit and scenarios of what would you do if you were away from home, or should this or that happen, helps everyone to prepare better mentally for a disaster happen. This is very important to mentally preparing yourself for a disaster. Because in the moment of a crisis, you may be scared, in shock, or even confused, but having practiced what to do in case of a disaster will have become so routine, that you are more likely to remember what to do to keep yourself and your family safe in an emergency.

Knowing that you have enough supplies in your disaster kit like nonperishable foods, water, medicines, blankets, flashlights, batteries, portable radio, and a first aid kit to last through a few days of interrupted power or road closing due to treacherous conditions will go along way towards mentally preparing you for a disaster.

Knowing where available shelters in times of disasters are located and having a suitcase packed with clothing in your vehicle or in a spot where you can grab it quickly, before a disaster strikes: is another good way to prepare yourself mentally for a disaster. Do you know where to go in your home for the best protection in a tornado? Preferably you should go to an area in the north east corner of the basement. But if you don’t have a basement, experts recommend a windowless room like an interior closet or bathroom. Do you have hurricane shutters to protect windows from breaking and hurling broken glass at you when tropical storms and hurricane-force winds blow? Do you know the evacuation route to follow to get out of the way of danger? Educating yourself on all of these things will help you to prepare mentally for a disaster.

Prepare yourself mentally for a disaster by reminding yourself that although disasters can be very frightening and can cause a lot of costly damage that may take time to recover from, most disasters are survivable given that you are prepared to react quickly to protect yourself and family when they do happen.

Learn how to mentally center and relax yourself so that you can think more clearly during a disaster and make the rapid decisions necessary to come through them relatively well. Know that you will be experiencing a host of different feelings and reactions to a disaster. It is not possible to completely prepare for how you may feel in any given disaster, but being ready to experience a multitude of feelings will help you better cope with them mentally when they happen.

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