Why this matters
Stress can narrow attention, disturb sleep, speed up breathing and make ordinary decisions feel impossible. Practising short sequences in advance reduces the number of choices required when people are tired or frightened.
Morale supplies belong beside practical supplies. A cup of tea, coffee, boiled sweets, candy, music, cards, prayer item, photograph or familiar spice can restore identity and routine. Choose what genuinely comforts the people involved and keep it safe, modest and culturally appropriate.
Before disruption
Prepare now
- Write a five-minute reset: stop, breathe normally, check immediate danger, name the next three actions and contact someone.
- Identify personal stress signals such as rushing, freezing, anger, silence, shaking or repeated checking.
- Choose trusted people and professional support routes before they are urgently needed.
- Pack a morale kit with familiar drinks, small treats, activities, sensory tools and meaningful items.
- Practise decisions when mildly tired or distracted, then simplify any step that is forgotten.
When it is happening
Protect the next decision
- Deal with immediate physical danger first, then slow the pace enough to check facts and priorities.
- Use short shifts, written tasks, food, water and rest to reduce decision errors.
- Offer practical help, calm company and accurate information without forcing someone to talk.
- Seek urgent professional help if someone may harm themselves or others, cannot stay safe, is severely confused or has another mental-health emergency.
Plan for real people
Access, care and inclusion
- Distress may look different across cultures, ages, disabilities and trauma histories.
- Ask what helps and what makes things worse instead of imposing a universal calming technique.
- Protect medicine continuity and specialist support for existing mental-health conditions.
- Give children simple truthful information, routine, play and access to safe familiar adults.
Mental readiness
Protect morale and clear thinking
- Keep one morning and one evening ritual even when the rest of the day is uncertain.
- Use British tea and boiled sweets, American coffee and candy, or another familiar comfort as a deliberate pause, not as a substitute for food or water.
- Notice useful actions, kindness and progress without denying grief, fear or anger.
Common mistakes
What to avoid
- Using alcohol, non-prescribed drugs or risky behaviour as the main way to sleep or cope.
- Shaming panic, tears, anger or withdrawal, or demanding forced positivity.
- Consuming continuous distressing news after the information needed for action is known.
Evidence and review
Sources behind this guide
Prepare Now uses authoritative government, humanitarian and public-health material as a starting point. Source advice can be specific to a country, hazard or date, so check the current version for your location.
- Mental Health in EmergenciesWorld Health Organization
- Psychological First Aid: Guide for Field WorkersWorld Health Organization
- Mental Health and Psychosocial SupportInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
- Prepare for EmergenciesAustralian Red Cross
Editorial status: first staging edition. Safety-critical instructions will receive specialist and jurisdiction review before public launch.