I'm ashamed to admit I had a major blow out with my daughter and wife tonight. Just boiling point stuff that blew and got so ugly. I had to leave the house to calm down and let the wife and daughter do likewise.

After a bit I came home to a scolding and talk of divorce came up. Seems Im developing hurtful traits that where exhibited by a past husband in which my wife left him for. I worked it out with my wife because she is my everything. I then had a tense discussion/apology with my daughter that slowly turned into one of loving advice and reconciliation. She amazed me with her spot on advice and for being only 18 she sure is a perceptive gal. My wife has her feelings hurt but we are so good together I know it will work IF I make changes.

They tell me Ive changed for the worse the past 6 months as Ive slowly lost my enthuasim and have been replacing it with a mizture of frusteration, gloom andbitterness (at the world)

They both told me Im to saturated with current events and end of the world mindset. That its good we have preperations but to dwell on it with such a consuming negitive gloomy attitude was hurting the family.

Im not going to ignore current events but Im going to stop them from ruling my attitude. Heck, I died on the operating table this past Feb and you'd think I'd have a blessed attitude but this seems to of messed my mind up in a subtle way. My doctor told me something of this magnatude puts people in a tailspin and suggested counseling to help me find my way back to the joy I once had.

Guess I should fall back and regroup. I'm prepared, knowledgable and improving my skilld fast. Seems we are ahead of so many others already. I should worry less and be thankful for being ahead and ready AND with that under my belt, start enjoting life especially my family.

So Id like to ask you folks, how do you had to balance current events in a crazy world and a bad economy with life and happy family? Is there a way for me to be more happy? I'm going to start including God more and set prayer at the top of my list. Something Ive let slip lately.

To conclude, Ive got a wonderful family that I came close to losing tonight. To top it off, tomorrow is my wifes birthday ugh, I feel like a heal. They are worth changing for and I feel in an effort to protect them Ive ignored them or just changed on them. Man, the pressures of this world just dont let up! Suggestions are welcome to help me retune my thought process away from the state of the world or for a hobby to preoccupy my mind as I have none.

Faith & Friendship
Pooly

PS not looking forward to winter as I suffer from extreme cabin fever

Too much of anything can be a bad thing. I am reminded of the phrase "the only vices of that person were his exaggerated virtues" Stay away from extremes.

As far as current events, I personally think I have seen worse conditions in my lifetime, and that is not to claim that everything today is sweet and rosy. We are discussing stability vs instability in another thread. I think it is safe to say that society, most of the time,is surprisingly tough and resilient.

Glad you are working things out with your family. The best to all of you.

People have predicted the end of the world since the beginning of the world (for humans, at any rate). While we can't ignore the larger world the real Apocalypse is losing your family. What use it it to gain the world but lose your soul?

I agree with being prepared, but if you've reached the point where involvement with politics/theories/ideas threatens your family life you must make a choice as to which you value most.

You will protect the ones you love best by being there. Do what you must to make this happen. If you push them away that won't happen.

Best of luck with your personal travails.

I am an old er nurse, and therefore the least qualified of advice-givers: this is all IMHO, YMMV stuff:

Changing the amount of oxygen supplied to the brain, or any insult to brain tissue like concussion, changes the brain chemistry, and changing the brain chemistry is a big deal and lasts for a long time. It turns happy folks into sad, peaceful into violent, optimists into pessimists. This may not be a political issue but a physical/psychological one as your doc suggested. This is way too hard to do by yourself: counseling, medication, and lots of attention from really smart people for you and your family may be required. You are clearly a smart and sensitive guy, with a good grasp on the priorities in your life. You will be in our thoughts and prayers.

Its not the end of the world.

But the economic shift of wealth to China is real,just read they are now the Number One economy in the World.

Prepare for what that economic shift entails and that should suffice IMO.Its way more than just income,its what loss of wealth entails to your society as a whole.

My Mom REFUSED to watch the news and lived her whole life happy.....so maybe you can OD on news.

Dont live in fear,get up to speed then refine within REASON,when we go overboard in anything and miss balance then things get sticky.

Im glad my wife is on board 100% with my politics.

We spent a fair amt getting to where we are at,but really we are just getting back to 1900 preps,and it worked well for them.We never crushed our savings to buy preps,we used disposable income only.

As said about history,there is a lot of good things we can learn from the past.

So we have some protection,a pantry and power and water and food and shelter.Could be better,but Im not Bill Gates,Im a schmuck but still believe in Grand Parents and Great Grands knew what its about in making a secure home,they did it,we can too without going overboard.

Mike,my Dad had a hypoxic incident.He was a guy who could multiply 6 digits by 6 digits in his head,after that would tell you 2 and 2 is nine and swear by it,only part of brain that was affected that we could tell,amazing!

Don't pay too much attention to the media. It's moslty politically biased, sensationalist hooey. Fear sells, remember?

Balance.

Balance the amount of time you spend with your loved ones and alone.

Balance the amount of time you spend watching the news with time spent watching movies, enjoyable television shows, reading a book, or whatever it is you do to disconnect and have some fun.

Make the time to exercise. Make the time to do fun stuff with your family and friends. Make the time to do fun stuff by yourself.

Balance the time and money you spend prepping for what might happen with the time and money you spend on dealing with what's happening now. If you get too caught up in what might be, you may very well miss things that you'll wish you hadn't.

Try a light therapy lamp for the winter; they've helped several people I know.

In addition to seeking professional help for your medical and psychological issues, consider marriage counseling.

Separate correspondence sent.

I agree with CHAOSMAGNET with the exception of one bit of advice. Seeing a psych type has serious ramifications for a veteran. Balance the need against the short and longtime ramifications.

Greenghost,
Wildman makes a good point re. psych vs. veteran status.
Go to the physician who spoke to you about "people in a tailspin" and ask for a referal to an appropriate practitioner. The refering doc should explain to the practitioner the history behind the referal which should alleviate any concern re. your status as a vet.
Best of luck to you.
jpickett, former USNR corpsman

First off, let me say best wishes to you and your family. Next let me say something about "current events". Current news is often not accurate and not even well presented. It has been my past experience that every, and I mean EVERY news event that I have ever had direct involvement with from on the scene have all been reported inaccurately, Every one of them.

To me that means that I cannot pay a lot of attention to the media and the way things are portrayed. Chances are very high that the event is not being accurately presented.

I try not to get wrapped up in speculations and just worry about the near-term and ignore the "what if" syndrome.

As for winter being a time for cabin fever, look into some activities that are fun and good for you. Cross Country skiing, snowshoeing, ice fishing, whatever it takes to stay busy and have fun. I always find winter to be my best time, but I live in the desert:) I spend my summer with cabin fever and I read a lot and stay cool inside.

Good luck!

Thanks all for the support. NurseMike, I showed my wife your post and she agreed, she was a CNA and has pretty good knowledge of things.

Ive decided to get counseling. Just to have someone to guide me back to the old me will be great. Stopped listening to Rush, although I'll miss him, but gotta do what I gotta do. Honestly, I stopped watching news years ago when George W was first elected. Not that I disliked him, I'm rt wing con rep, but I just felt the need to unplug myself from the media.

Things are on the mend with the family just as God designed it to be.

And we picked up our 01 rav4 tonight too!

Sounds like you are on a better path. Best wishes.

You might find this film enlightening & entertaining.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zm7CdEeAQA

Good move Green,those political shows can really warp ya.Cant stand em from either side myself,I see propaganda nonsense from both.

Makes me angry to watch em.Wasteland IMO.

Bet you will feel better dumping em.

Best to you and yours.

Most popular media fail to put things in context. Are things really worse now? We rarely get the historical information and statistical and other analysis to even begin to evaluate the news.

Rarely can we really justify arriving at the conclusions suggested by the surface content of "the news." Consider adding a large dose of scepticism to your world view, in self-defense if nothing else.

Please forgive yourself for being a fallible human.

When you mentioned media.. political shows never crossed my mind.

They are so divisive and hate filled. It doesnt matter to me what you vote,its your right and I respect your choice as yours 100%. Good luck at the polls,see ya there Bud is my attitude.

When they rail on endlessly,insulting the heck out of anybody from the other side,then it crosses the line of respect for others and personal freedom.

I dont need hate in my life,I will bet a dollar to a doughnut you will feel better very soon having that destructive trash outta your life,and having positive loving respectful thoughts towards your fellow man instead.

Everytime I read this thread title, I am reminded of the biggest problem the Brits faced in the Falklands War and that we faced in Gul War 1: there was so much intel, it was hard to process it and ended up confusing the situation instead of clarifying it.

In gathering info for the Haitian Invasion, we were given specific questions to get answered and that helped eliminate the clutter that would have confused the planners.

well said. There seems to be no more useful information in the political shows than in the survival shows...or the cartoons.
The reality shows are scripted and edited into cartoons, the talk shows are manipulated and dramatized, the news shows sensationalized and directed toward entertainment rather than information.

So South Park isn't actually a animated reflection documentary drama on contemporary political, social and economic lifestyles.



How TV ruined your life.

How TV ruined your life.

[/quote]

very funny and informatie thanks

You don't give any examples so it's hard to be specific. But if you do; we can tell you why the world isn't ending.
Long term worries are real. Population, resources and global warming (I'll believe 'there's disagreement among the scientists' when the denials are from climate scientists). But they are LONG term. We are heading for a bad mid century. Nothing in the next decade.
Lighten up and be glad you have a family!
qjs

Dont know about time frame,there are riots going on in Spain and Greece that arent being covered here at all.And we do have a tendency to be pulled into these events.

AFLM,thanks for the links,gives me and the Mrs something new to watch,appreciated.

Can't think of any riots over the european economy you've been pulled into before. Or any other riots for that matter. There's a difference between sensible prepping and survivalism. You are virtually certain to be safe. Look at the statistics.
qjs

WWII???Dictator Hitler rose to power in the extreme of an economic collapse.

The rest as they say is history

Spuds,
The last couple of posts were about us getting pulled into European riots. We didn't get pulled into WWII until well after Hitler crushed Poland and France and was at war with England. Even then, we didn't declare war until Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and German subs started sinking our ships.

It took a great deal more than mere riots to pull us in, I think.

Economic failures topples govs,bringing in extremists.No Hitler,likely no WWII.

We are seeing economic failure now (Rioting in the streets) and govs being toppled already,happening already with govs being replaced and the shift of wealth from West to East,repercussions follow.

The shift shows a surging Chinese military and a lot of rumbling now coming from them.Ask Japan,our Nato ally,how things are going vis a vis the Chinese.This affects all Nato members.

There will be changes as power/wealth shifts.History shows war is often the result.

Economic failure and war are intertwined.Military powerhouses tend to fight before fading away,or fight to exploit weakness.

So Japan is in the North Atlantic now? :-).
Governments come and go all the time, no one is saying 'lets have a war'. The governments that are being toppled are being voted out, not by a coup. How does that threaten anyone? Least of all someone with the Atlantic between them and the toppling.
China isn't going to declare on it's market. And no one is going to start a war with the USA. Which could probably defeat the rest of the world combined. Besides how does this affect greenghost? He looks too old to be drafted.
relax; all is well.
qjs

Respectfully, if your assessment of the world situation is that it presents a direct threat to your well being, the question posed in the thread title is answered in the affirmative. Not to say that your scenarios are impossible, but they are very low probability.

Everyone's situation is different, but I am more concerned about prepping for wildfires and earthquakes. Even civil unrest is fairly far down the list. I like to stay informed about world events, but not out of concern for my family's safety. Politics will always be with us, like heart disease and cancer.

Back to the OP:

Modern news, by its very nature, floods us with situations that are out of our control. That can be depressing, even paralyzing. But it's a distortion of the world as it really is.

A wise news anchor once said that every newscast should start with "in 99.5% of the world, nothing bad happened today ... now here's the rundown on the 0.5%."

Sounds like you've come to an important realization, though, that there's more going on in your personal situation. It takes real stones to admit that all is not well (I've been there). I sincerely hope you will act on it.

Talk to a physician. Get it out there, on the table. The old chestnut of "man-up and pull yourself up by your bootstraps" only goes so far. If your heart was wildly palpitating, or you leg was broken, would you see a doctor? Of course you would. The brain is an organ like any other, and a long list of events can throw a wrench into its operation.

There is daylight at the end of the tunnel. Reach out and grasp it.

-Doug

It's SEATO ( SouthEast Asia Treaty Organization) that Japan is a member of.

No offense intended.

I find a walk in nature is a guaranteed mood booster!
qjs

or a good spin on the bike! Just back from one, after a lousy week at work. The outdoors often serves as my church.

None taken.

Or at the very least, the best way to sooth out the chaos from a busy day.

No offense was intended by my: 'So Japan is in the North Atlantic now?' comment. It was a tiny slip and made no difference to the substance of the argument.
qjs