The book by Amanda Ripley positive impact on life and personality
1) This book by Amanda Ripley has greatly impacted my life and personality positively. This is because I realized that my disaster personality is not as strong as I imagined it would be. Instead, I see a person who has lost hope, is experiencing panic, anxiety, and difficulty in breathing when encountered with a disaster. Before, I thought that with my personality it would be easy to escape disaster or even take a run for it. However, after reading the experiences people have had in tragedies such as the September 9/11, I decided to build on my response to a disaster to improve my chances when disaster strikes.
I must admit I was surprised that group think did have an impact on an individuals’ deliberation in the midst of a disaster. Also, I was surprised by the fact that almost no one goes through a disaster alone (Ripley, 2013). This because I always pictured how people respond in disasters and for me, I thought it was every man for himself. However, am amazed that the crowd you may find yourself in when disaster strikes can determine your chances of survival. The reason is that how the group functions are based on who is in the group affects survival chances for most.
What was confirming after reading this book is that no one survives a disaster unless they are pushed or they push themselves to calculate on risks (Ripley, 2013). Most of us think that people who survive when many others don’t is by luck. However, I confirm that luck is unreliable in such situations. Unless one takes less time during denial and deliberation they are more likely to become victims of a disaster. However, if they are quick at their decisive moments on what to do in the midst of a disaster then their chances of survival are higher. In addition, I confirm that resilience in times of disaster determines those who can escape and survive.
Everything that I have read in this book has influenced what I will do in the future if caught in the midst of a disaster. I will not waste time to do things such as shutting down the computer or packing things or even making multiple calls. Instead, I will take a few minutes to process my current situation, accept it sooner instead if denying circumstances that have already befallen me. In future, if I will be in a crowd, and disaster strikes, I will try to encourage everyone to calm down and make quick decisions on what to do next rather than wait for help from outsiders.
What I have learned about how people react in a disaster even is that for most, it takes time to come to terms with the reality of what is happening. This prolongs their denial phase since their brains cannot comprehend the sudden turn of events. Therefore, I was completely fascinated by Zedono story concerning her escape from the Trade Center (Ripley, 2013). This is because she admits to having wanted to stay during the disaster instead of running away. I have learned that the denial phase in the midst of a disaster is humbling since people procrastinate on leaving. I learned on the psychological tendency of normalcy bias, which makes us slow to recognize exceptions.
If I could share one thing with a loved one is to take less time in their denial phase when disaster strikes. This is because there are Trade Center survivors who admitted to waiting for 45 minutes before heading downstairs (Ripley, 2013). Although I do understand why most people procrastinate on leaving due to our brains processing the situation and trying to identify with patterns from the past. Also, during a disaster one needs time to think and search for better information when our brains fail. However, the delay and the procrastination on leaving may cost the chance to survive and escape on time.
Reference
Ripley, A. (2013). The Unthinkable: Who survives when disaster strikes and why. Harmony.
2) The book provides valuable life lessons on how to stay calm when a disaster occurs. As she mentioned, there are tiny disaster drills in everyday life. One of the main lessons is that in an emergency, panic, denial, and fear may be inevitable. However, repeated rehearsals lead to the best way to get the brain to perform under extreme stress. I always wonder what makes some people more vulnerable, and others more resistant? “The better prepared people are, the more confident and the better they will do an emergency.” In other words, we don’t always have control over events, but we can prepare at least.
The book consists of three main stages in the event of a disaster, which are the stage of denial, deliberation, and decision. Amanda Ripley reports in her book on several disasters that have affected people. She investigated various survivors of disasters, such as 9/11 hostages, hurricane survivors, fire survivors, and others
I learned that the first occurrence of the event of a disaster is denial, and the classic manifestation of denying is laughter and silence. Moreover, I like reading real stories or events that happened in the world. These days I have been watching Chernobyl TV show, it is about the nuclear accident that occurred three decades ago. In that event, people ignored government orders to leave the area, they stay and collect their items, which is an incredibly common disaster behavior that she mentioned in many cases. Generally, people respond to events differently, and they will follow one another and act in the same way as a person taking a leadership role in a disaster. Lastly, I would tell my loved ones and friends some information to know how to respond to different emergencies, and they should try to participate in various exercises and training programs.
References
Ripley, A.(2008). The Unthinkable: Who Survives Disaster and Why. NY: Harmony.
3) The surprising thing in “the unthinkable” by Amanda Ripley is that individuals who live or die depend on their characteristics. Individuals need to ignore what the relevant authorities are telling them, individuals need to take the initiative because they should save themselves, and also every person should take charge of his/her life to increase the chance of survival. The conforming thing is that a person`s resilience is key in survival (Ripley, 2009). Resilient individuals are more likely to survive when a disaster strikes. Resilient individuals can influence the events in life because they learn from both positive and negative experiences.
I have learnt that for me to survive in any future disaster, I need to take charge of my life by taking the necessary steps. I need to be confident and not panic. Also, resilience is an important aspect that I should put in consideration to increase my chances of survival.
What surprised me is how people panic when reacting to disasters resulting in more harm. Majority of the individuals have the perception that a disaster cannot affect them. People are ignorant and think that they are guaranteed a smooth life (Ripley, 2009). That is why when a disaster strikes, majority of the individuals don’t know how best to handle the disaster.
What I would like to share to my friends is that they should always be adequately prepared for disasters because it is something natural. Also, individuals should learn how to survive when faced with difficult moments rather than start panicking when a disaster strikes. The life surviving skills are an important aspect that even the government needs to address.
I have also learnt that individuals should opt for effective actions when a disaster strikes. Majority of the individuals panic when they feel trapped, helpless or isolated. Panicking is a form of overreaction. Self-control is everything and people should learn to have self-control. And also, the government`s response to disasters need to be effective because most of the government`s response to disaster is ineffective resulting in more harm (Ripley, 2009). It is therefore important for the government to always be prepared in case of a disaster.
References
Ripley, A. (2009). The unthinkable: Who survives when disaster strikes-and why. Harmony.
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