How our disaster personalities can be better prepared for catastrophes?

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How to Prepare Disaster Personalities to Deal with Catastrophes
Catastrophes affect the lives of people on a daily basis. Natural calamities and human triggered calamities occur in the lives of people often in the current age. As a result of the increasing number of calamities, societies have formed ways of coping with such issues at individual and corporate level. Governments of the world invest a lot in planning for disasters toe limit the chances of such occurrences happening and reduce the effects of calamities on the economic, social, and political aspects of a community. Technology networking can go a long way in ensuring community preparedness (Bonabeau and Stephenson 8). However, no matter how well a society manages to prepare strategies to deal with catastrophes, some situations are unavoidable, and they cause considerable loss of life and property.
Moreover, catastrophes are costly. In cases of tsunamis and earthquakes, people loose a lot of resources thus affecting the economy of the society in a negative way. Organizations loose important employees and machinery that can take a long time to replace. Additionally, governments invest so much money in reconstructing a society that has been hit by a catastrophe, money that would have been used to promote growth and development of the society. On the contrary, disaster effects spread to families, co-workers and bordering countries at some point. For instance, if a catastrophe occurs in one country leaving the majority of the people homeless, masses can immigrate to the neighboring countries to seek for short refuge as their former world is reconstructed (Stein 51).

In such a case, the people carry along with them the effects of disaster to their host country thus spreading the impacts of the mess to a wider group of people. In short, catastrophes slow down the development of a society and keep people revolving around the vicious cycle of loss.
It is necessary to ensure that the society is well equipped to deal with such mess when it happens at different levels. Researchers such as Ripley’s have come up with a better way of dealing with disastrous issues by encouraging individual people to prepare how to handle such issues (Ripley 56). The efforts of governments and different organizations to minimize the effects of disasters are not enough. However, good an institution improves its resilience against disasters, when the real thing happens; the people caught up in the disaster are the ones who determine the amount of loss and the ultimate effect of the disaster to the society. The real power to overcome these odds lays within an individual hence the need to develop the traits that can help people cope well with catastrophes.
People have innate traits that help them to deal with catastrophic situation successfully. However, these traits are better development in some people than in others. Disaster personalities exist in each person, but how well someone nurtures the traits makes the difference between the people who survive catastrophes and those who succumb to the situation. Preparedness does not include physical preparations only; it also includes psychological preparedness to help one cope with the affects of disaster (Whitbourne 14). Disaster personalities are the state at which one gets when pressed down by a difficult situation, these traits do not show up until a person is facing danger. The unprepared always find it hard to tap into these great reservoirs of strength, but every one can learn how to be resilient in times of danger. Some authors have argues that disaster personality traits are inborn and cannot be instilled on other people. The argument is based on the fact that some people survive disasters and even seem positive about the ordeal in the future. On the other hand, other individuals succumb to the mess so easily and even if they survive the catastrophe by chance, they spend the rest of their lives complaining about the situation. Although there exist these two groups of people in times of disaster, it is important to know that their difference is not the presence or absence of disaster personality traits (Whitbourne 17). Every person has these traits, but they need to be worked on to ensure that are fine-tuned to protect people in times of danger.
Ripley coined five mechanisms that people can use to prepare their disaster personalities to deal with unbearable conditions. The study on the mechanisms has been progressed and fine-tuned by other scholars to help people understand simple steps that can be of great help in making a difference if one is faced with a calamity. The mechanisms include attitude, weight management, practice, knowledge, and lastly anxiety management (Ripley 109).
Attitude plays a major role in determining the lifestyle of an individual. Similarly, the attitude of a person during and after a catastrophe determines how well he or she copes with the effects of the situation and the survival chances of the individual. Research indicates that people who believe in their ability to change their destiny regardless of any challenge have a better chance of surviving a catastrophe. Confidence that comes from psychological stability goes a long way in ensuring effective survival after a disaster (Bonabeau and Stephenson 21). However, it is important to know the difference between confidence and wishful thinking. Confidence is built on reality by assessing one’s strengths and weaknesses. The best way to develop such an attitude is to imagine a real danger situation and analyze the factors that can help in such situations.
Moreover, positive attitude indicates that one can find purpose in times of turmoil. This attitude is essential for survivals of disaster. It ca be developed by contemplating on the worst-case scenario and finding a way out in one’s head. However, this is not to be confused with worrying. Imagining a worst-case scenario is healthy because it allows one to come up with possible solutions to deal with such a mess if it happens. Worrying, on the other hand, keeps people scared and unable to operate normally. Lastly, developing an attitude that shows people that learning does not come from good experiences but bad as well can give one a better chance of survival during the catastrophe. For instance, an individual who sees the disaster as something to learn from will keep a positive attitude during the catastrophe and not despair. In most cases, people suffer primary and secondary effects of a disaster because of despair. A good attitude will help one avoid these thoughts and emerge successful in a catastrophic condition (Siebert 98). Developing an attitude is an individual effort, but the societies can help people to embrace positivity by teaching them that disasters are bound to happen, and the possibility of overcoming catastrophes is depended on one’s resilience.
Knowledge is very important in preparing the disaster personalities. The brain has a better capacity of analyzing information that is familiar with a catastrophic situation than processing completely new information. The human brain is designed to detect partners; therefore, having a prior knowledge of a disaster or a difficult situation makes it easy for the brain to process the information and help the person to make the right decision (Ripley 135). Moreover, having a prior knowledge of such a situation helps one to avoid the three-stage process of disaster management as coined by Ripley. The denial, deliberation, and decisive action process tends to slow down the response of an individual during a crisis and the main cause as to why this happens is because the brain acts slower under stress especially when handling a new set of information. Moreover, understanding that people have survived similar situations in the past gives one hope. In addition, it helps the disaster personality of an individual to function better and save the individual from great harm. This knowledge can be acquired through the reading of materials and familiarizing oneself with catastrophes that happened in the past.
Training helps to keep one fit and light enough to act with ease when faced with a difficulty. In fact, training serves to reduce weight as well as heighten the sense of an individual. For instance, a person who practices martial arts has a better response to danger than an individual who does not practice. Additionally, people with a lot of weight are bound to suffer secondary effects of a calamity such as cardiovascular diseases. Keeping manageable weight helps to heighten the disaster personalities of an individual thus giving him a better chance of survival (Hall et al. 77). Martial art is not the only way an individual can practice. Doing the normal exercise helps to keep the body fit and sensitive enough to analyze situations and come up with a good course of action in the shortest time possible. Moreover, exercise helps the brain to remain alert thus giving one a better chance of surviving catastrophe. In most cases, training helps an individual to train the brain how to act normally even when under great stress which is helpful in a catastrophic situation. Moreover, training helps one to develop survival tactics and allow the body to rise to the occasion when faced with danger. The disaster personalities of an individual become better with training and give one a better chance of surviving and overcoming calamities.
Lastly, managing anxiety levels helps the disaster personalities to function well in case of a catastrophe. Anxiety limits one from taking the right action and makes it hard for the brain to process difficult information (Siebert 82). Therefore, people with anxiety problems should work their fears out to ensure that they are in a better position to handle stress without freezing. Confronting catastrophes in the head can help one overcome these fears thus heightening the disaster personality traits.
Catastrophes can occur any time, and their effects are not discriminatory. Therefore, it is vital for people to prepare their resilience ability to deal with such issues when they occur. One of the best ways of building resilience is by strengthening and preparing the disaster personality that lies within each individual. Having a positive attitude, manageable weight, knowledge, managed anxiety levels, and constant training helps people to heighten their disaster personalities and prepare thus giving them a better chance of survival in case of a disaster. Moreover, having a prepared disaster personality gives survivors the power of rebuilding their lives and distancing themselves from the effects of the calamity. Every individual should focus on developing his or her disaster personality traits for better resilience.

Works Cited
Bonabeau, Eric, and W. David Stephenson. “Expecting the Unexpected: The Need for a Networked Terrorism and Disaster Response Strategy.” Homeland Security Affairs 3, Article 3 (February 2007). https://www.hsaj.org/articles/151
Hall, Colin M., et al. Business and Post-Disaster Management: Business, Organizational and Consumer Resilience and the Christchurch Earthquakes. Abingdon, Oxon New York, NY: Routledge, 2016. Print.
Ripley, Amanda. The Unthinkable: who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2009. Print.
Siebert, Al. The Survivor Personality: Why Some People Are Stronger, Smarter, And More Skillful At Handling Life’s Difficulties … And How You Can Be, Too. New York, NY: Berkeley Pub. Group, 1996. Print.
Stein, Mathew. “When technology fails: a manual for self-reliance, sustainability, and surviving the long emergency.” Paperback (2008). Web. 13 Dec, 2016.
Whitbourne, Susan. When disaster strikes others: how your brain responds. 15 Mar 2011. Web. 13 Dec 2016.