Tuesday, April 17, 2018

mental fatigue 2 of 3


MENTAL FATIGUE 2

I think I can sum up yesterday’s hot mess of an article with: with age comes mental as well as physical fatigue, which while not an excuse to use carte blanche is a consideration and concern.  Just as you cannot bench press 300 pounds at sixty years old, it takes more mental effort to fight against the natural tendency to avoid change and all other road blocks the mind puts in front of the prepper.  You must plan ahead for the day you can’t be as effective with your muscles, and you must learn the tricks against your brain.

*

Not that age has anything to do with stress and mental fatigue.  Age is more a consideration in that you are looking at a lifetime of stress that can be cumulative.  After a certain point, once you know you’ll die soon anyway, can you even give one crap, let alone two?  I keep harping on the condition of the medical industry here in this country.  Long ago, as with Windows computers, nothing much new is being discovered and only the color of the paint keeps getting changed.  Have you noticed how most focus on medical tech is in customer record keeping rather than new innovations in you know, life saving stuff ( I’m not in the industry-I’m speaking from a general perspective I pick up from the news

*

I am totally convinced that we have already passed the point where medicine can help you, in a general non-trauma event way, but rather hurts you more often than not.  I’m not trying to discount the many ways medicine can help.  You read stories from the Great Depression where poor people died from conditions now very simple to rectify ( one story was of a worker who herniated moving a large stone ).  I’m merely saying that we need to give up the old folkways where people  could count on living to a minimum of mid-Seventies.  Medicine was cheap and affordable and was advancing, in the good old days.  Newsflash!  The good old days are over and done with.  You are NOT allowed to pick and choose from a menu the stuff you don’t want to change.

*

No, Social Security cannot last indefinitely.  No, your job is certainly NOT secure.  No, your home value doesn’t need to increase or even stay stable.  No, medicine no longer will keep you alive very long.  I’m convinced that I’m now better off staying out of the hospital for longevity.  Because it is no longer “treat to cure”, it is “treat to avoid litigation”.  Not to mention the financial aspect.  I don’t mean I WON’T go to a doctor, as much as I mean I think we are already back to the Great Depression era of earlier deaths due to financial considerations.  I have no expectations of living through much of my sixties. 

*

And while this expectation relieves a lot of stress, it also means I give in to mental fatigue a bit easier.  As in, oh, what the Hell, I’m good enough.  I’ll relax now.  Stop sweating living in town.  That kind of thing.  But mental fatigue is nothing new to me, either.  I’ve needed to fight it for decades.  Yes, mostly I had to carry on, to plow through, to force myself to act.  But I never had an iron will, an indefatigable discipline.  I had to come to terms with the fact that I had too much to do and not enough time or mental energy to so.  I had to accept a slower pace.  We all work hard.  I did little more than most by working two to three jobs at a time.  When I had two other actual paying jobs my writing tapered off to almost nothing. 

*

Not because it was a matter of discipline or scheduling, but because of mental fatigue.  You can only force yourself to do so much.  Throw in children and a disintegrating marriage.  Add in extra stress at work.  Pick your poison-it is in actuality a miracle we are as productive as we are, with all the obstacles.  When my writing pace picked up along with the demands at work, I tended to avoid putting much effort into a long ago doomed relationship.  Yes, da bitch be to blame.  My point only is that you can’t do all the required and necessary tasks in life.  Something always has to give.

*

Looking back, it is amazing some of the “prepper required” skills I blew off learning for far too long.  I didn’t learn how to wash my own wool.  I kept postponing leather working.  I kept taking the bike to the bike shop rather than learning to perform my own mechanics ( at one time pedaling one bike while pulling another, six miles, the other one bobbing and weaving and banging into my leg, tearing skin and bruising muscle-which was finally the push I needed to learn the skill ).  I’ve been buying laundry soap rather than making my own, even though it is as simple as boiling water and using a measuring cup.  I ate nasty store bought whole wheat flour rather than grinding my own ( you can REALLY taste the difference with fresh ground ).

*

I’m sure there were many more not coming to mind.  You know the stereotype.  The wife comes home and husband is watching TV, while something simple like a picture being hung up was neglected.  The wife goes ballistic.  She brings up all the things previously mentioned.  Lazy, fat bastard, won’t do your share, you had all the time in the world.  She isn’t taking into account mental fatigue.  In a way, a lot of preppers with unrealistic expectations are acting like a shrill wife berating a suffering husband.  There are a LOT of prepper skills we need to know ( not just end of the world stuff, but replacing money with skills stuff to deal with the unfolding economic collapse ). 

*

But we only have so much mental capital we can cash out.  We remain in the trap of spending money rather than time.  You know, since a gallon of laundry soap is $2 at the store, why not just spend the extra $1.70?  A container of soap lasts a few months if you do it right.  It’s less than a buck a month to pay to NOT worry about yet another chore ( in this case, making your own soap ).  YES, we all understand the cumulative effect of this is to keep us wage slaves from unlocking our shackles, but we are also so frigging tired mentally from dealing with work we just tend not to care much.  That is the fight, isn’t it?  I’m surprised I have much more to say.  I’ll continue tomorrow.

END ( today's related link https://amzn.to/2EFw4BM )
 
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28 comments:

  1. I remember hearing that when someone tries quitting an addiction their IQ drops due to the mental effort required. God knows I've wore out a few brain cells.

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    1. We're innocent! It is the fault of an abundant society! :)

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  2. I find doing what I want to be doing and am passionate about is energizing mentally and physically.
    Toiling at what other people think is a great idea for me is a fucking life vampire.
    Older I get, more I say no to any stupid shit.

    You made a huge life improvement for yourself James putting writing first in your life.
    Keep the momentum.

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    1. On keeping the momentum, I had a solid year of doubling my output. Then I started churning out crap. I almost felt guilty for cutting back, but I need to learn to accept periods of minimum activity to recharge the batteries.

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  3. Throughout the time my wife and i.have been together. She has gotten used to me having fifty unfinished projects, going at once. She used to bitch, only that once in awhile she'd like to see at least some of them completed. Obviously many did.

    Now days, she is just happy to see me doing anything ! Knowing full well that each year I seem to be getting better. Mostly now...she bitches if I over work.
    Though, as I've stated before I'm blessed with a great woman. Every man should be so fortunate.

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    1. You're very fortunate to have had quantity quality. I have to settle for short duration quality. Most only get quantity.

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  4. Not to sound too girly but, you really hit on where I've been emotionally for a few years now. The boss, the wife, the kids, they all fail to see the fact that there is only so much brain power to go around, even if there are more "waking hours". I always say "I'll give 100%. Do you want that divided equally among 100 projects so each gets 1% effort or should I do some of them the right way and pencil whip the rest?"

    -Novice

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    1. I don't think discussing our emotional state is girly. It just needs to be approached correctly. A girl just talks and talks and talks a bit more, and then is done. A guy can talk, as long as it improves what is going to be accomplished. Which is what I think we are doing here. Increased performance. Girls ONLY identify a problem. We try to solve it. So ID'ing is okay as long as we solve it afterwards. Not complaining, being stoic, is that ideal if it allows problems to be mislabeled or misidentified?

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    2. Long ago, a man of great insight in his area of operation, George Smith Patton, Jr., observed that a man's body doesn't get tired; his mind does. As with most pithy statements, (the type of many written here), exceptions exist. Nevertheless, a mind can drive the body until it dies, when running, for example.

      In any case, the mind is paramount. It takes energy to think; those who think it does not, probably don't put much effort into thinking.

      Yep, yep.

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    3. I'll be honest-I had to look up "pithy". It's better than it sounds :) The fact that Patton was assassinated by the elite of the day gives his thoughts extra credence. Just saying.

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    4. Glad you looked it up. I meant it as a compliment. Since I rarely pay compliments, I'd hate to have one wasted.

      While I would not necessarily associate the words 'fact' and 'assassinated' in Patton's case, it certainly was an odd occurrence. Would you hold that the assassination was the automobile accident, or in his subsequent medical treatment? I'm familiar with both as far as the public record goes, which itself may not be reliable. As I understand it, his neck was broken (and scalp torn off) when his head hit the overhead light fixture in his vehicle. The temporary treatment was traction, immobilization, which lead to pneumonia. And death.

      He was an interesting character. Used to refer to Eisenhower as "that goddamned clerk." One might speculate that the allocation of all logistics to Montgomery's Market Garden, which ended in what could be reasonably described as failure, as well as bringing Patton's drive into southern Germany to an abrupt halt, could support that theory. All hindsight, of course.

      Let me also say, if I may, that your writing, particularly the arguments you make (support of some principle and projection of effect) have gotten steadily better this past year. Your work is paying off. It is pleasant to watch. . . and to read.

      Good on ya!

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    5. Your knowledge of the events of the accident are far greater than mine. I have nothing to support my theory ( yes, "fact" was misused ) other than the worst possible outcome for those in power would have been the demise of the Soviets. We needed the cold war to continue to goose the military industrial complex to consolidate and build our world power status. I think a lot of things were planned out during the war to continue this dynamic. Bring the Saudi's into the fold, importing Nazi science, etc. To me, it just fits that Patton was a threat to that. Wild conjecture, but there is little else you can do in a world of lies and national security secrets. For instance, was the assassination attempt on Reagan the coup from Bush, Sr.? One of many examples.

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    6. And PS, thanks for the compliments. It is nice to know I'm improving. I always have tried, of course, but I should have no excuse now as I have more energy and time.

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    7. you said it. I say "women bitch about problems, men solve them!"

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    8. Of course, I don't mean that as an insult. More of a irritant, but women serve their niche, as we do.

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  5. Was wondering if anyone is familiar with, or can recommend the book in the link below (the 1st of 3)? Apparently it’s a medicinal herb book written in the 1890’s by a prominent doctor that was well known in the field of herb medicine. It was mostly intended for the remote pioneers that weren’t near any big cities and were pretty much on their own. It intrigues me, and I’d like to get it, if for no other reason than for nostalgia purposes. But it would be a double bonus if it were to also serve as a post collapse guide (as some in the reviews seemed to feel that it would). For this reason, I would probably get the hard copy (and yes, through your links).

    1894 Frontier Doctor's Medical Handbook: Book 1 (The Frontier Doctor's Medical Handbook) (Volume 1)

    https://www.amazon.com/1894-Frontier-Doctors-Medical-Handbook/dp/0692322019/ref=pd_bxgy_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0692322019&pd_rd_r=KBTHVR2Z6ZHHZPVKZGYS&pd_rd_w=PKWbf&pd_rd_wg=jjHbX&psc=1&refRID=KBTHVR2Z6ZHHZPVKZGYS

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    1. In general, I've been less than impressed with old timey books such as this ( mostly in other fields, I can't comment on this one specifically ), but I have them if needed and hopefully they provide something positive. At least this one is relatively affordable.

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  6. Yeah guys, everybody has great contibutions to this series. I can at least take comfort with the knowledge that I am very aware of the impending problems i.e. collapse/shtf/etc. Well and above 98% of the rest of the herd. I have worked ass off since early 90s to get gear/skills/mindset as ready as possible, again probably better than majority of the other prepper want to be folks. Thanks to Lord Bison's constant admonishments, even with some fatigue as expected, we are all well on our way here. Carry on!

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    1. Even if all the effort is for naught, we did our best ( yeh, I really can't imagine we'll get much more time ).

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    2. Jim, you got a shout out link by woodpile report. Your on the march now. Pack a traveling bag for upcoming speaking engagement tours and book signings.

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    3. I also envision commercials ( "I don't always use a FLIR scope, but when I do I use GayBone brand for superior performance" ). The visitor count was up fifty percent. We'll see how many stay, bless 'Ol Remus' heart.

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    4. In a round about way, it’s probably better that this site doesn’t draw too many followers. This site is rather politically incorrect (Don’t get me wrong, this is one of your main attractions) and too much negative attention would put you in the crosshairs of the wrong people. There are certain organizations that come to mind (being vague on purpose here). I know of another blogger, and a smaller one at that, that made their list of undesirability (again, being vague here, as to avoid keywords).

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    5. I hear ya. Thought the same thing myself.

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  7. My experience exactly! One of your best posts. Common sense/wisdom given in a lyrical* way.

    * "expressing the writer's emotions in an imaginative and beautiful way".

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  8. I liked the series, tried but couldn't post this on your 4/18 article.

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    1. Thanks, and sorry. Usually the hiccups on Blogger are minor.

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  9. Just got back from the junk land. I thought the county would install the culvert like they do for everyone. But the wet weather creek was 16 inches to far from the road. Cost me 1500, 550 for a 42 inch culverts and the rest for rock and labor. Be sure to research all the in and outs or be ready to pay for the unexpected. The shack will have to wait awhile longer, gotta get more dough.

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    1. That ain't chump change, damn! At least you have junk land, though, right? Right, Jim, like that helps! :)

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