This report was originally published by Daisy Luther at The Organic Prepper
By J.G. Martinez D
Hello to all those readers interested in learning from my personal experience of surviving an economic collapse.
I decided to write this article, the first of a series of several similar that will be posted because I am experiencing these days a huge emotional mix. I am not embarrassed in any way for this, I am a normal person, I have feelings and emotions like everyone else, and until not long ago I had a home, a job, and a conventional, peaceful life like perhaps many of you are enjoying right now.
May God keep it that way!
As a former oil worker, one learns to control emotions, because being in this business, a bad decision in the field if there is danger present, could cost one’s life. Or someone else’s. This said, when we made the decision (as a family we discuss all this of course) and, once my salary stopped being useful for three weeks worth of food, we decided that was the inflection point. After 14 years in one of the most profitable industries in the world (except in Venezuela), I was left with nothing in my bank account. The hyperinflation ate away all the little money that was there. The next step, fleeing to a foreign country (yes, I had savings in hard currency) and trying to find some stability was relatively easy, as my sister-in-law and mother-in-law were already here, and they had some space. So I started a small business (mainly private lectures) just to meet the ends, and it became more or less profitable. A phone call every two days to home, to speak with my family, and long, newspaper-like emails, social networks sometimes. (We decided to not disclose my departure because of OPSEC).
Anxiety
Everything had been happening more or less in a kind of natural way. I did not realize how deeply all this has affected me on a subconscious level. After the daily struggle ended, I suddenly start to become more and more anxious and sad whenever I received photos from my friends and family. I had never been a very delicate person regarding emotions, and feelings. I had been able to have everything under relative control.
But the uncertainty and stress have started to take their toll. What motivated me to write this, was that I did not even realize it. A grown man, dressed in black leather, riding a big, loud motorcycle, and whose eyes suddenly broke in tears trying to buy some medicines for a little, sweet, granny who sells flowers in a hutch to the side of the road for a living…come on. Yes, that happened to me. Powerlessness, inability to help because I had the money, but could not find the medicines in any pharmacy I went to…it was the first episode, and I should have taken it as the first warning about something was going on back there, behind the curtains. That was a year ago. I never had a similar experience until recently. I have been exposed to a degree of anxiety, just like a normal student and worker could experience. Once one learns to deal with it, everything seems to improve.
But you know what? We have experienced a disaster like few other countries are experiencing. An earthquake is a terrible experience. But it is fast and sudden. The agony of a slow-motion collapse like the one we are having, I am deeply convinced, leaves permanent scars in the minds of everyone who is going throughout. Whenever a natural disaster is present, perhaps we took our time, but we accepted it. It was inevitable, in most instances.
But when the situation is induced, and the only reason you can find is human evil…that changes things radically. The frustration level is very high. So high, that I have found myself walking (in hilly terrain) just to calm down a little bit. The other things that have worked to calm down my anxiety are meditation, a cup of warm milk with some drops of chamomile essence, and rest.
Anguish
I never realized, until some recent events, the level of the threat we are facing. A total disruption to our former way of life. My sensitivity has been so high, that even being in the market and seeing the pet food large bags, makes a knot my throat, knowing that perhaps our furry parts of the family are not being well fed. And I start thinking about all the abandoned pets in the streets…you know how it is. I have a natural love for animals, and this affects me deeply.
After having read a little bit about the topic, I can say that the uncertainty levels are so high that it has been what has overwhelmed my self-defense mechanisms. Upon accepting this, I became aware that we were doing MUCH better than the average. I had a safety net and a parachute. A lot of people is now trying to sell their goods in an economy that is in the bottom of the tank, just to buy the bus tickets to get out of dodge!…Jeez, dude.
I have learned that the natural response of every individual is different, of course. Some face it with courage, some others just crash down, and crumble. The total impact depends on the magnitude of the threat; on how well prepared the person is to deal with it…here I had some advantages, as a family head. I had been prepping for more than 10 years now, and that helped me to overcome that incredible anxiety that has attacked me in the most unforeseen moments. With the good paying job we acquired some equipment, made some smart investments, and on time I developed some alternative income sources that allowed us to sort many obstacles. Good overall health, d a proper mindset has been extremely important for this.
One of our friends, a good fellow, in his 60s, who had enjoyed a relatively comfortable life, was not so lucky. He was the owner of several commercial locations that he had inherited from his family. The inflation rates and the food supply difficulties hurt him badly, financially speaking. He fell into a deep depressive state, and sadly he got sick and passed away some months ago. Heart disease, they told us. Had he put his guts together, asked for hard currency from his tenants, and start behaving like a prepper, maybe he would be still alive. He had properties enough to navigate through the mess by playing his cards wisely. That was a hard hit for us, and as well a close call: an improper approach in the worst of a crisis, can, and most definitely will, get people killed.
Added to the anxiety paroxysms, I have been experiencing something that could be defined as anguish. It is difficult to differentiate one from the other. This anguish is perhaps deeper and longer lasting. It comes around whenever I start thinking in the near future, instead. Not having any medical insurance now, like the full coverage we all had once, and the lack of a fixed employment with proper income is the main cause, maybe. I am sure it will mitigate once this is resolved. But it is there, and yes, the effect is noticeable.
Anger
Another emotion that I noticed is arising is anger. A gut-deep, strong, dark, powerful anger. Rage. Without any specific target. Not good. Anything that can force you to make a non-rational choice is a potential danger and must be assessed and controlled. I am working on that, though.
Something very interesting I recently read about is the perception the subject has about the crisis that generated the uncertainty state. Personality and some other factors like the age group of the individuals are important factors, too. We have to understand the need to overcome our own personal stuff, and take care of those who need us. It is extremely hard to do, but can be done for a while.
And of course, there is that support we receive when facing a crisis. It is hard to provide support when everyone´s life is a mess, too. I have received lots of support, and perhaps being lonely in a foreign place without friends, family and acquaintances is a major factor in this hard-to-overcome emotional state. And I am not exactly that kind of friendly neighbor, just a little below the average maybe (have had really abusive neighbors)…but I am a family man.
In the next article, I will write about the three crisis stages. I admit to having a denial stage until not so long ago. But the recent violent events made me wake up about just how far evil can go.
Dedication: I would like to finish dedicating this article to our friend Nelson “The happy mustache” as we called him, recently deceased, another innocent victim of this economic collapse. He was really a nice, funny guy, and had lots of good vibes to offer.
Fly high, my friend. And don´t get your mustache too wet up there in those clouds…
***
About the Author
Jose is an upper middle class professional. He is a former worker of the oil state company with a Bachelor’s degree from one of the best national Universities. He has a small 4 members family, plus two cats and a dog. An old but in good shape SUV, a good 150 square meters house in a nice neighborhood, in a small but (formerly) prosperous city with two middle size malls. Jose is a prepper and shares his eyewitness accounts and survival stories from the collapse of his beloved Venezuela. If you’d like to donate to help Jose get his family out of Venezuela, you can do so here: paypal.me/JoseM151
Please feel free to share any information from this article in part or in full, giving credit to the author and including a link to The Organic Prepper and the following bio.
Daisy Luther is the author of The Pantry Primer: A Prepper’s Guide To Whole Food on a Half Price Budget. Her website, The Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at [email protected]
Tough shit Jose. What the hell did you expect from Chavez, Maduro or the whole ‘Chavista’ b.s.? You whine now because your socialist dictatorship no longer provides for you. Well!!! – “F” you Jose, Okay? You people make me puke. You want a civilization, a country worth taking a piss on (for your’s ain’t even that now, is it?)? Then change it. Revolt and try some other legitimate form of govenrment. Until then – you can send your pretty chicas up here to be sex chattel.
Exactly, they voted for socialism, so fuck them.
You make your bed, You lay in it.
Reading Fernando Aguirre’s book “Surviving the Economic Collapse” in Argentina. Good read and sobering.
Thanks for your article.
Anxiety, Anguish, Anger: How It Feels to Survive a Collapse
That is exactly how I feel when I am taking a shit.
Or in other words… giving birth to a liberal.
The majority of the people voted this in. The same in Hitlers Germany, the same in America, the same in every crap infested nation or dictatorship. The people themselves voted it all in. You want someone to be angry at, look in the mirror.
Thats why we are supposed to be a republic NOT a democracy. In a democracy people vote themselves into slavery 100% of the time. I don’t vote for any of this shit, therefor I blame the 95% of the retarded, moronic, socialist, dumbass cooksucking public. I like who I am and what I believe in. I am an anarchist but that is real freedom and 99.9% of the sheeple can’t handle freedom as they are irresponsible and can’t govern themselves. I bet that YOU believe in some socialist values. Whats your take?
I have never been to Venezuela, so what I read is the extent of my knowledge. However I have been many times and lived in next door Colombia, which gives me a lot of hands on experience in knowing the economy and culture in Colombia. And for the last 9 years have had a young (20 years younger than me) and pretty colombian girlfriend which further helps my understanding of their shared latino culture. I could write a book about the wonders of Colombia since 2002. With the election in 2002 of a hard right wing president of whom I like to compare to Winston Churchill during the war years, Colombia emerged from a war torn violent nation to a prosperous peaceful nation. The only real difference was a hard turn to the right politically with a president willing to fight the commie rebels instead of years of go along get along appeasement. That is the main difference between the 2 neighbors, now prosperous Colombia, with far less oil, and oil rich socialist Venezuela which cant feed itself and who has become the violent neighbor. Socialism/communism always fails and always will, and the blame is always put either on the capitalist countries interference or the fact that the socialist/commie system was never fully implemented. It is so obvious the failure of socialism that I cant figure any reason the democrats and the media and the professors ect , along with so many others are pushing us to turn into starving Venezuela unless it is a planned assault on our system and values. Just plain makes no sense. Venezuela here we come sooner or later,,,, unless we fight. Thank goodness Trump may be able to delay the demise of our values for a while. KF
KF: Thank you for your post! Bravo and well said!
Communism always fails and it always ends in tears, blood, starvation, and suffering. The leftists in the US have infested every institution and continue to push their insanity onto others and to brainwash our young people. I find it appalling.
The US has a Stasi spy system that would make the East German Stasi drool in envy. I never thought that after serving in West Germany, while the Berlin Wall was extant and while people were being shot dead for attempting to leave East Germany, that I would find myself living in my home country surrounded by people that think communism is a solution to anything! This is madness!
This whole open borders crowd are part of that insanity. The US does not owe any illegal anything. Try going to another country, as a US citizen, and expect to be fed, educated, housed, clothed and your offspring to be automatic citizens! Most countries in the world would laugh at you after you had been deported (if you were not imprisoned, killed, or enslaved, first).
Good Article. All of the items Martinez talks about have an effect on how we operate during an SHTF event. Knowing about them allows for us to prepare and avoid them.
Here’s another one.
Survivor guilt (or survivor’s guilt; also called survivor syndrome or survivor’s syndrome) is a mental condition that occurs when a person believes they have done something wrong by surviving a traumatic event when others did not.–wikipedia
Yes . But the tribulation is about separating the wheat from the Tares, and burning the Tares? Compromise with evil? Go along to get along? For how long?
Tribulation? Wheat from the chaff? What we are going through is simply another event in history. We’ve gone through the illegal alien item three times in the past century. This time is much more persistent and damaging due to the hobbling of law enforcement per the democratic “plot” to get more votes. The invaders bring us poison/drugs and call us racist when we protest. Not acceptable by any standard.
The tide has turned however. Trump is the messenger and we the people have sent a clear message by putting him in office. We’re taking back our country. Conservative values will rule supreme in the U.S.. Like the saying goes, there are two ways this happens. The hard way or the harder way.
Good Documentary on the Great Depression:1929 The Great Depression Part 1 (no space between ? and v)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCEJ65H_1XE&index=12&list=PLwmhkxugQsNUJYi2t4gda6qTo8wJ9gCLu&t=15s
We are responsible for our own govt. we either improve it or go down with the Titanic. No third option.
Coming to the US sometime soon folks, get ready.
I wonder of our responsibility for our government? Most don’t like what there getting ? It’s not what they vote ,It’s who count the ballets? Who said, A democratic republic depends on the morals of the voters? Third world voters, Third world government?
Bueno este artículo me parece un resumen de todos los ataques al que está sometida Venezuela por parte de los poderes económicos internos y externos. José que dice trabajar en la industria petrolera, lo cual no puede ser verificado por ustedes, sólo refleja su incomidad con el gob. siendo el parte, quizás, del drenaje-saboteo que se hace. Este página no es honesta en cuanto a investigación se refiere. Refleja intereses particulares de a quines conviene dar crédito(vedad) y a quién no.
Agreed…Jose is another survivalist telling his story. This one from Venezuela instead of the Balkans.
Google Translate rocks BTW.
Government? Translated from Latin. Govern means control , ment is Latin for mental. So Government means control of minds?
To think we where one election away from being Venezuela.
Indeed. But how many families in the US are intact? Mine is spread all over the US and we are not close and in contact with each other.
I would rather have friends than family. You can choose your friends but you cannot choose your family.
Correction: One vote; 400,000,000 guns, more ammo than was shot in WWII and some people that will die free.
When things come crashing down here in the US they’ll be saying that about us. If you think Trump isn’t going to let us down within the next few months you’re in for a big surprise.
They’ll be saying the same s ** t about us. We voted in an inept, on the take president who is for the NWO, not on our side, only pretending to be for the people. Looking forward to his (crafted by a team of professional speech writers, rehearsed 20x, reading off teleprompter, not coming from the heart) disingenuous SPEECH tonight. Its the not coming from the heart that I have a problem with.
we have evolved. for the better? I cannot see, for I haven’t that talent. we follow natures plan that sets about on the wind to send us to the ends of the earth. we now depend upon people we will never meet. our attachment is no longer there or wanted. our mates now selected electronically. the personal attachment no longer needed. where will we get the close attachment it will take to keep us unified? crisis brings out our humanity. continued stress of crisis try’s the limits of that humanity. when we see the end we excel. when we can see no foreseeable end we will revert to protect ourselves. while our families may be scattered to the wind it will be our community that becomes family. few if any have experienced hunger. to what length will you go to feed your crying child? If you dont have the answer to this question are you prepared? not many have grown up dirt poor where you ate at the table of many neighbors because they had more than you. even today’s poor are overweight. they have never seen hunger. If America fails the zombies wont be the stumbling unthing you see on TV they will have guns, in a gang and hungry. I haven’t an answer, for even prepared you delay only the end unless you learn to live frugal and stop our throw away society. repair,reuse,recycle is a start. and you must start now.
Grampa
Do you people really believe this fate is not coming to you also, are your salaries shrinking, does it cost more for things, do you even have a job?
Georgia guide stones tell you their aim which is to reduce the population to 500 000 000 people, if your not one of the ones that are vacuuming up the wealth of the nations you will be one of those starved to death.
Do you think it is by chance that they are selling grain that will not be able to be regrown, GMOs and other health destroying mutations?
Most criminals seem stupid? But in gangs they will have tough street smart leaders.? The typical gullible American will have trouble with that? Handicapped by the inability to comprehend the level of evil in some? The , Shoot first ask questions later. Could be problematic. But the alternative could be a fate worse then death?
Stress has been defined as “The emotion you feel in suppressing the urge to strangle some SOB who desperately deserves it.”
Stress is meant to be short-term and is tied to the flight-fight syndrome. When you cannot do either, the stress remains and can do actual harm. Managing stress in yourself and in others is a key element in survival. Stress changes people and not always for the better. Time spent learning about stress and how to handle it is time well spent.
I wouldn’t be dog-piling the Venezuelans, because if they, (and we) had known what we had been voting in, neither of us would have done it. Both us and them have been DECIEVED by the politicians who are corrupt and self enriching. Maduro himself never misses a meal he didn’t intend to, while his people starve, and he doubles down on the communism. We have similar in this country, but no starvation on a large scale, like them. When the starving begins here, that’s the precursor to fighting. But blaming the author for his troubles does nothing to solve the problem, and blames an individual for the actions of corrupt and socialist govt. Prep, and find SOLUTIONS, not people to curse and blame. There will be plenty of others to watch out for, once the country gets sporty.