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**Mellie** · June 14, 2006, 12:00 AM

Resilience

Thoughts on Resilience:

Characteristics/ qualities to develop...

knowledge of your own creatorship... and knowing you can fulfill the measure of your creation
ability to plan and achieve your goals;
when confronted with a problem or a block along the way, flexibility of mind and the ability to problem solve;
ability to maintain balance and perspective: after all, change is normal;
emotional intelligence;
ability to communicate;
social support system/network of co-creators: those you support and those who support you

**Snowy Owl** · June 14, 2006, 01:00 AM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

A strenght providing daily ritual,

Have a tiny place, with a carpet on the groung or a small chair,

First thing in the morning go encountered yourself there,

Sit still until you are fine with yourself by your lonesome without an agitated mind for 5 to 15 minutes.

This will bring back yourself into yourself,

A great way to start a day, when dragging events is part of daily Life.

**sharon sanders** · June 14, 2006, 01:14 AM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

Thank you for this input. How can we adapt this site to use these suggestions effectively? Please contemplate and let me know.

I consider this project one of the most important to manage collateral damage in a potential pandemic.

**Mellie** · June 14, 2006, 02:12 AM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

Basic physiological survival needs are

air (3 min)
water (3 days)
food (3 weeks)
sleep
shelter (or not too hot, not too cold)
urinating-defecating

Plus freedom from illness in this case.

Take care of the basics, people might start to feel a bit safe, like they're coping, controlling the important things that can be controlled -- but maybe not in our society in which we seem to want and expect so much.

When people find themselves in a situation in which demands exceed their resources, they become stressed. The result is increased epinephrin (adrenalin) and cortisol. Perceived inability to procure one or more of the basic needs for themselves or their family will throw lots of people into a heightened stress state in which it's easy for emotion to take over and hijack their reasoning brain.

(One way to regain control of the brain when its running away is to focus on the breath: in 1,2,3 hold 1,2,3 out 1,2,3. Breathing is automatic and also under volitional control, so controlling it can reduce your heart rate and stress hormones and let you take control of yourself again. The blink is the only other automatic response and volitional movement humans have.)

If adrenalin pumps and heart rate and blood pressure rise:

Some people will engage in some form of fight or flight response -- or panic -- and not think straight OR they will somehow regain control, engage their rational brain (prefrontal cortex) and start to problem solve to make steps to survive.
Some people will continue to do nothing, deny there's a problem, deny they should assume responsibility for their own future starting now. "I can't deal with that now." Expect to be rescued. "I pay taxes." This will exacerbate stress sooner or later in this case, because the problem is not going away and they will not be rescued. Sometimes doing nothing in uncontrollable situations works and the problem resolves itself on its own... Not this time...
Some people (probably most) will be overwhelmed for a while, frozen, like deer in the headlights while their situation sinks in. Their reasoning brain might kick in -- or it might not for longer than is adaptive.

They might slip into "learned helplessness" feeling they have no control, or "hopelessness" or clinical depression.

They may disengage socially becoming very isolated and feeling alone and in despair. Being alone may be an advantage in this case (?) although there's lots of literature showing that those with friends/family, even a pet, live longer healthier lives.

Florida1, best thing for human beings is to have something to do to get ready and plans made for what to do when pandemic is a reality. Many people are doing nothing now... Resilience, what's that?

People will all react or respond differently in large part in ways similar to how they react/respond now. Resilience can be fostered, but people do not change overnight if they're not already on that path...

Social units and collective action is a powerful force...

My best to you all and my thanks. I appreciate this community.

Mellie

**Mellie** · June 14, 2006, 02:15 AM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs fits in here. We're all going to be on the bottom of the pyramid...

I hope this is online somewhere!

Ain't Wikipedia great!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology that Abraham Maslow proposed in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation, which he subsequently extended. His theory contends that as humans meet 'basic needs', they seek to satisfy successively 'higher needs' that occupy a set hierarchy. Maslow studied exemplary people such as Albert Einstein, Jane Addams, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Frederick Douglass rather than mentally ill or neurotic people, writing that "the study of crippled, stunted, immature, and unhealthy specimens can yield only a cripple psychology and a cripple philosophy." (Motivation and Personality, 1987)

Diagram of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
1. Physiological (Biological needs)
2. Safety
3. Love/Belonging
4. Status (Esteem)
5. Actualization

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels: the four lower levels are grouped together as deficiency needs associated with physiological needs, while the top level is termed growth needs associated with psychological needs. While our deficiency needs must be met, our being needs are continually shaping our behaviour. The basic concept is that the higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus once all the needs that are lower down in the pyramid are mainly or entirely satisfied. Growth forces create upward movement in the hierarchy, whereas regressive forces push prepotent needs further down the hierarchy.
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</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]> </script>
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Deficiency needs

The deficiency needs (also termed 'D-needs' by Maslow) are:
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Physiological needs

The physiological needs of the organism, those enabling homeostasis, take first precedence. These consist mainly of:

the need to breathe
the need for water
the need to eat
the need to dispose of bodily wastes
the need for sleep
the need to regulate body temperature

When some of the needs are unmet, a human's physiological needs take the highest priority. As a result of the prepotency of physiological needs, an individual will deprioritize all other desires and capacities. Physiological needs can control thoughts and behaviors, and can cause people to feel sickness, pain and discomfort.
Maslow also places sexual activity in this category, as well as bodily comfort, activity, exercise, et cetera.
[edit]

Safety needs

When the physiological needs are met, the need for safety will emerge. Safety and security ranks above all other desires. These include:

Security of employment
Security of revenues and resources
Physical security - safety from violence, delinquency, aggressions
Moral and physiological security
Familial security
Security of health

A properly-functioning society tends to provide a degree of security to its members. Sometimes the desire for safety outweighs the requirement to satisfy physiological needs completely.
[edit]

Love/Belonging needs

After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the third layer of human needs are social. This involves emotionally-based relationships in general, such as:

Humans want to be accepted and to belong, whether it be to clubs, work groups, religious groups, family, gangs, etc. They need to feel loved (sexually and non-sexually) by others, and to be accepted by them. People also have a constant desire to feel needed. In the absence of these elements, people become increasingly susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety and depression.
[edit]

Status (Esteem needs)

Humans have a need to be respected, to self-respect and to respect others. People need to engage themselves in order to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution and self-value, be it in a profession or hobby. Imbalances at this level can result in low self-esteem, inferiority complexes, an inflated sense of self-importance or snobbishness.
[edit]

Being needs

Though the deficiency needs may be seen as "basic", and can be met and neutralized (i.e. they stop being motivators in one's life), self-actualization and transcendence are "being" or "growth needs" (also termed "B-needs"), i.e. they are enduring motivations or drivers of behaviour.
[edit]

Self-actualization

Self-actualization (a term originated by Kurt Goldstein) is the instinctual need of humans to make the most of their unique abilities and to strive to be the best they can be. Maslow described it as follows:
<dl> <dd>Self Actualization is the intrinsic growth of what is already in the organism, or more accurately, of what the organism is. (Psychological Review, 1949)</dd> </dl> Maslow writes the following of self-actualizing people:

They embrace the facts and realities of the world (including themselves) rather than denying or avoiding them.
They are spontaneous in their ideas and actions.
They are creative.
They are interested in solving problems; this often includes the problems of others. Solving these problems is often a key focus in their lives.
They feel a closeness to other people, and generally appreciate life.
They have a system of morality that is fully internalized and independent of external authority.
They judge others without prejudice, in a way that can be termed objective.

[edit]

Self-transcendence

At the top of the triangle, self-transcendence is also sometimes referred to as spiritual needs.
Viktor Frankl expresses the relationship between self-actualization and self-transcendence in Man's Search for Meaning. He writes:
<dl> <dd>The true meaning of life is to be found in the world rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system....Human experience is essentially self-transcendence rather than self-actualization. Self-actualization is not a possible aim at all, for the simple reason that the more a man would strive for it, the more he would miss it.... In other words, self-actualization cannot be attained if it is made an end in itself, but only as a side effect of self-transcendence. (p.175)</dd> </dl> Maslow believes that we should study and cultivate peak experiences as a way of providing a route to achieve personal growth, integration, and fulfillment. Peak experiences are unifying, and ego-transcending, bringing a sense of purpose to the individual and a sense of integration. Individuals most likely to have peak experiences are self-actualized, mature, healthy, and self-fulfilled. All individuals are capable of peak experiences. Those who do not have them somehow depress or deny them.
Maslow originally found the occurrence of peak experiences in individuals who were self-actualized, but later found that peak experiences happened to non-actualizers as well but not as often. In his The Farther Reaches of Human Nature (New York, 1971) he writes:
<dl> <dd>I have recently found it more and more useful to differentiate between two kinds of self-actualizing people, those who were clearly healthy, but with little or no experiences of transcendence, and those in whom transcendent experiencing was important and even central ? It is unfortunate that I can no longer be theoretically neat at this level. I find not only self-actualizing persons who transcend, but also nonhealthy people, non-self-actualizers who have important transcendent experiences. It seems to me that I have found some degree of transcendence in many people other than self-actualizing ones as I have defined this term ?</dd> </dl> Ken Wilber, a theorist and integral psychologist who was highly influenced by Maslow, later clarified a peak experience as being a state that could occur at any stage of development and that "the way in which those states or realms are experienced and interpreted depends to some degree on the stage of development of the person having the peak experience." Wilber was in agreement with Maslow about the positive values of peak experiences saying, "In order for higher development to occur, those temporary states must become permanent traits." Wilber was, in his early career, a leader in Transpersonal psychology, a distinct school of psychology that is interested in studying human experiences which transcend the traditional boundaries of the ego.
In 1969, Abraham Maslow, Stanislav Grof and Anthony Sutich were the initiators behind the publication of the first issue of the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology

**Christian Rivers** · June 24, 2006, 08:30 PM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

I am writing this as part of the psychological aspects of pandemic flu but with the content of the "Hard Facts about Bird Flu" thread in mind.

When transcendence becomes a basic need.

Here is a paradoxical scenario to consider.
An invader group (IG) comes into a society. A moderate number of individuals in the society are able to hunker down and escape notice from the IG. A large number of people in the society are caught unawares and killed by the IG. A larger number of people in the society band together and engage in a very fierce, costly battle with the IG but in the end are victorious. After it is all over, how will the social bonds in the society include those who escaped the battle?

Another example we can study is the relationship of a diaspora group on return to their homeland after a crisis or war. The contributions of the diaspora to those who stayed behind greatly influence the relationships.

I suggest we may find it worthwhile to integrate our personal safety plans with continuity of operations for social institutions and businesses. This means a personal choice for us to increase our personal risk for the promise of increasing the probability of survival for our society. The paradox is that our probability for personal survival is directly linked to the survival of our society. If we follow this line of reasoning we might invest more effort to keep the grocery stores functional for everyone. If not for altruism then at least so that we do not have to fight off mass numbers of folks who were unprepared except for being well armed.

For social survival, altruism may be our most basic need.
CR

**sharon sanders** · June 24, 2006, 09:44 PM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

Another phrase would be ?the best defense is a good offense?. The offense would be, in this case, social responsibility.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
By protecting our society we are protecting ourselves. It is time for all of us to step out of our protective shells. I have, for months, given out my real name to many in the quest of helping to lessen morbidity and mortality in a potential pandemic. Dr. Thornton has too. Many of us are now known. We must be real life examples to those here on this site and to those around us in our personal lives. We must reach out in our neighborhoods and communities as known entities, as experts in the H5N1 discussion, as mothers and fathers, as concerned citizens. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
First, organize your neighborhood. Give out your name. Distribute materials from this site. Put your reputation ?on the line?. The fastest way to organize your neighborhood is to start or participate in a neighborhood watch program. These are sponsored by the local police and can be set up very quickly. You will get to know the ?cops on your beat?. Have the first meeting at your home, or schedule a meeting if there is already a neighborhood watch in existence. This will provide a quick framework for a neighborhood organization. You can use this group to make a presentation about H5N1. This will also serve to organize neighborhood preparations and a distribution network. Of course, this will also provide a security zone, if needed.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Second, go to your local emergency management official. Give them your name and phone number. Give them a deadline for contacting you. Find out what they are doing to ensure adequate water and food deliveries to the area if a pandemic occurs. Do not take no for an answer. With your real name and phone number they will not be able to ignore you for long.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Third, contact neighborhood watch groups that are close to you. Help them get organized. Make an informal agreement to cooperate on preparations and distributions. Establish and distribute a list of duties and those responsible for each. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Only by cooperating with each other, by establishing a strong community, can we overcome this threat. Throughout history humans have cohabited to survive. It is our nature. It is our past. It is our future.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1:place>Sharon Sanders</st1:place></st1:City><o:p></o:p>

KC · June 25, 2006, 12:01 AM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

Lookout for friends and family?

**LMonty** · June 25, 2006, 10:43 PM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

There is a way to "prep for the neighborhood". Its the rice and beans method.

4 parts rice, one part beans. Mix together, then pour into container. Used soada bottles work really well (clean and DRY before use, of course!) In the nexk of the soda bottle, you should be able to shove down one or two bouillion cubes, still in their little wrappers. Add a couple of 2 liter bottle of water, and theres a meal for several- makes about 5-6 cups of food. The bouillon adds salt and flavor. Oh, and make sure you use small beans, like adzukis or lentils or split peas, that cook in about 20 mins, and dont need presoaking. Use plastic bags if you dont have the leftover soda bottles or someone to save them for you.

Oatmeal is cheap and stores well also, in the same type of setup. Wanna make it easy? Mix the quick oatmeal with some sugar, and powdered milk, spices if you like. Voila! instant oatmeal. I have the stuff to do it, but wont mix it up until the time is right- figure it will keep better unmixed, in case its a couple of years...easier to rotate it out if its unmixed. Put 3/4 cup of the mix in clean, dry yogurt cups (the type with snap lids) and hot water is all that you need to add.

Use the same yougurt cup idea with bouillion cube, about 1/4 cup dried veggie of choice, and some small noodles. Add a tbs of texturized veggie protein to get fancy. or mix it all up, and put in small plastic bags before giving it out. again, I wouldnt mix until needed.

You can feed a lot of people with 50 lbs of wheat, and 5 lbs sugar, and some dried milk. Cheap and easy, too.

Some stores sell bouillion in bulk, thats a great way to stretch lots of thing. Soup can stretch almost anything, too. A pound of pasta goes pretty far when made into soup. chicken soup base or bouilion, canned chicken, and pasta-great giveaways.

Think of some soups as "Rice toppers" cheap canned soup, made thick, with a can or some dried veggies, maybe some canned meat added- you can take a quart of that, and put on top of rice and feed darn near the neighborhood.
TVP is a good addition.

my "last minute list" has a lot of this stuff on it- for not much money, I can help a lot of people....

**Goju** · June 25, 2006, 11:37 PM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

This looks like a reasonable way to prep for the neighbors who have not prepped for themselves and turn to you for help....

How do you envision distributing it and to whom?
Do you cook and then store or cook and serve?
How many can a 50lb bag of rice serve like this?

**Christian Rivers** · June 26, 2006, 05:35 AM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

We are moving in the right direction.
I fully agree with the plan posted by Florida1 that the best defense is a good offense. Goju, for all your angst you are making great progress to be in position to protect your family and your neighbors. ( I like the mass feeding idea. Food builds fellowship, community and coherent action.)

Changing our own behavior is tough. Changing someone else's behavior is tougher. Remember the vast majority of people are just trying to make it to the end of the day. For those of us looking at tomorrow we have to meet them where they are. One of the functions of this forum is we have the opportunity to think through some of these issues so that when the time comes is is easier to select among the many competing options.
Some additional specific steps in line with Florida1 outline.

1. Prepare to your comfort level. Mine is to avoid the lines in the first rush (a couple of weeks).
2. An structural avenue to the official responses is through the Citizens Corps
(http://www.citizencorps.gov) or the Medical Reserve Corps (www.medicalreservecorps.gov).
3. Obtain the credentials for participating in the emergency response by participating in the training offered by the Citizens Corps. eg CERT.
4. Take basic training in NIMS (national Incident Management System).
This can be done on-line through the FEMA web site. The specific course is called IS-700. It takes a few hours if it is new to you. You get a certificate.

Remember - the real value in the above steps is not that you are trained specifically for panflu, nor does the Citizens Corps have the perfect plan. The reason is to become a contributing member to a team that can work together to solve very important problems as they occur in real time.

The process outlined above is inherently frustrating but is a necessary part of developing credibility. Earn trust by listening to the group at it's current level of function and then as they see that you are committed and will be there, they are more likely to listen and respond to your suggestions.

Please post any barriers that arise in the above course of action and we can figure a way to navigate through them.
CR

**cartski** · May 24, 2007, 01:34 PM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

Hi,

are there Canadian equivalents to the CERT and NIMS courses cited by Christian Rivers?

thanks,

J.

**sharon sanders** · June 9, 2007, 11:50 PM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

Originally posted by Florida1 View Post

Another phrase would be “the best defense is a good offense”. The offense would be, in this case, social responsibility.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
By protecting our society we are protecting ourselves. It is time for all of us to step out of our protective shells. I have, for months, given out my real name to many in the quest of helping to lessen morbidity and mortality in a potential pandemic. Dr. Thornton has too. Many of us are now known. We must be real life examples to those here on this site and to those around us in our personal lives. We must reach out in our neighborhoods and communities as known entities, as experts in the H5N1 discussion, as mothers and fathers, as concerned citizens. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
First, organize your neighborhood. Give out your name. Distribute materials from this site. Put your reputation “on the line”. The fastest way to organize your neighborhood is to start or participate in a neighborhood watch program. These are sponsored by the local police and can be set up very quickly. You will get to know the “cops on your beat”. Have the first meeting at your home, or schedule a meeting if there is already a neighborhood watch in existence. This will provide a quick framework for a neighborhood organization. You can use this group to make a presentation about H5N1. This will also serve to organize neighborhood preparations and a distribution network. Of course, this will also provide a security zone, if needed.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Second, go to your local emergency management official. Give them your name and phone number. Give them a deadline for contacting you. Find out what they are doing to ensure adequate water and food deliveries to the area if a pandemic occurs. Do not take no for an answer. With your real name and phone number they will not be able to ignore you for long.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Third, contact neighborhood watch groups that are close to you. Help them get organized. Make an informal agreement to cooperate on preparations and distributions. Establish and distribute a list of duties and those responsible for each. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Only by cooperating with each other, by establishing a strong community, can we overcome this threat. Throughout history humans have cohabited to survive. It is our nature. It is our past. It is our future.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<st1:city><st1:place>Sharon Sanders</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p>

Bump this.

**Mellie** · January 13, 2008, 01:14 AM

Re: Psychosocial aspects of pandemic flu and building resiliency

Some food for thought:

It's easy for human beings to Rush to Judgment when stressed or sleep deprived. Here are some errors and biases human beings are prone to experiencing that can contribute to that rush:

False hypotheses

Preconceived expectations are likely

When expectancies are high
After periods of high concentration
When operating defensively
When attention is directed elsewhere

Attribution errors

Fundamental attribution error

Attribution theory describes the processes by which people ascribe causes to behavior.

We have a tendency to attribute our own errors to external factors beyond our control, in the interest of increasing our sense of control, and reducing anxiety and uncertainty.
Tendency to attribute our own behavior to external causes (situation) and others? behavior to internal causes (disposition or personality).

Self-serving bias

Tendency to attribute success to our own efforts but failure to adverse factors in the environment

Overconfidence bias

Tendency to have unjustifiably high levels of confidence in our own opinions and judgments

Confirmation bias

Tendency to seek information that confirms our initial hypotheses rather than objectively looking for contradictory evidence

Availability heuristic

Tendency to weight information that is available to us, to the neglect of information that is not available. (chuckle)

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