Hello -

We are facing a crises of very large scale public health deterioration which must be addressed.

Part One - pre-y2k. Everyone upon understanding Y2k in depth begins to grieve. This grief can become quite profound. The stages must be traversed by each of us. Those who are farther along cannot hurry those who are in the earlier stages. Have compassion when someone is in coping denial. If someone is experiencing steady panic attacks, suggest means by which the attacks may be relaxed - ie meditation, body yoga, walks in a natural setting, herbals, etc.

Part Two - post-y2k. All Plan B Contingency Planning must include awareness and training to deal with what could turn into large scale personal horror as everyone's personal reality system breaks apart.

Whether it is a school age child who no longer can play video games, or all those addicted to TV, there will be a withdrawl period. Inability to commute to a job, or if the job is gone - will heavily impact adults. When food becomes scarce, or people become cold over days and weeks their mental health will deteriorate. People depend upon banking and govt for stability, when those two institutions fail there will be an aching void in people's lives. As the full horror of large scale disease impact unfolds, the survivors will need some way to cope. Most of us have never dealt with any dead human bodies, yet we all will be forced to deal directly with this, whether we are an emergency worker or just John and Mary Goodperson. All of us need to confront that we will loose someone close to us due to y2k. Most of us have never had to care for injuries or birth situations and these must be considered as essential aspects of Plan B Contingency Planning.

Thank you.
Mitch

-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), June 06, 1998