CONTINGENCY PLANS DURING TURBULENT TIMES

I remember that throughout my elementary school, during the “Cold War” years, children were told to prepare in case of a nuclear attack. We “trained” diligently, participating in frequent drills that consisted in hiding under our desks and clasping our hands over our heads. Fortunately, we were spared from this horrible event. Frequently, threatening situations or disasters catch us off guard and unprepared such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Most people around the globe did not see it coming. Recently, we have seen many business organizations preparing for these types of unexpected situations that would enable them to continue running smoothly in the event of a disaster.

Preparations for unexpected situations are what we call contingency plans, disaster preparedness or crisis management plans. Some examples include preparations for epidemics/pandemics, wars, natural or human made disasters, bankruptcy, cyber security threats and, more recently, Artificial Intelligence threats.

Families also develop contingency plans such as teaching family members how to prepare and proceed in case of house fires, break-ins, hurricanes or storms. Families can foster preparedness by assigning each family member a task in the event of a potential disaster.
Individuals also prepare for events that are difficult to manage or predict such as preparing ahead of time for school tests, work projects, interviews or presentations.

Being prepared for any eventuality can increase our sense of confidence and decrease our fears and anxiety about future demands or challenges. This concept can be expanded to other areas. In the area of preventive medicine, where future health concerns are mitigated by focusing on wellness (including healthy eating, regular exercise, good sleep hygiene), decreasing excessive caffeine and alcohol consumption is usually recommended to lead a healthy life.

Frequently, accidents or unexpected events can catch us off guard and overwhelm our skills and capacities until we figure things out or find support and assistance from others. There is really no need to burden ourselves by trying to predict all potential future risks and threats given that it is unlikely that most of these concerns and events will materialize. Those that live in areas where the risk of hurricanes, fires, tornados, earthquakes or other natural disasters are endemic will oftentimes benefit from setting up contingency plans.

In recent years, more business organizations have discovered that no one is exempt from potential cybersecurity threats and have started investing in preparedness plans to mitigate negative outcomes. Just as business organizations, states and countries foresee looming threats and make contingency plans to protect their citizens and workers. Every one of us who works in mental health should be sensitive to challenging and stressful circumstances facing individuals, families, and communities.

In the last two decades, our state—like many others—has been plagued with school shootings. Shrink Box, a non-profit organization focused on mental health awareness, has partnered with school districts and other organizations in our community to work and collaborate in such preparations by partnering with them to help educate different professionals on how to respond in the case of a tragedy. Learning from others who have experienced these terrible situations can be helpful to mitigate risk and develop effective contingency plans.

Likewise, many immigrants worldwide who have experienced overwhelming stress as they contend with new policy changes and threats to their livelihoods, displacements, and readjustments to new environments would benefit from contingency planning. Although this might seem counterintuitive because of their reason for taking on a torturous journey to immigrate, a search for a more promising environment may create an incongruent feeling about returning home or embarking on another journey of exploration to the unknown.

Mental health preparedness also applies to people experiencing overwhelming and persistent stress, who often feel that their resources and capacities are depleted and can experience “Learned Helplessness” (Seligman)—an emotional state where individuals feel that there are no acceptable options for them and all possibilities appear bleak, and they feel trapped. For those working with populations that are currently experiencing significant stress, we should offer support and help them plan, assisting them to find strategies that give them a sense of security and wellbeing. We can support those facing these challenging situations by considering the development of a mental health contingency plan, where they can be prepared and where we can also help them to develop coping skills to decrease anxiety and other emotional distress.

Being proactive improves our confidence and reduces stress. Writing out a plan and discussing and reviewing it with family members can provide a feeling of competence and reduce feelings of helplessness. Difficult and turbulent times can be met with some preparation. Although hiding under a desk would not have protected us from a nuclear attack, and in fact created fear in many children, it also prompted many of them to later participate in peace efforts.