Article: Being emotionally and mentally strong, or resilient, means adapting well to things like stress, trauma, adversity, or tragedy. Resilience is not something you are born with — it is a process that can be learned by anyone, and is found in ordinary people.  Being emotionally strong doesn't mean you don't experience pain or suffering — resiliency is often learned when one is faced with an extremely painful situation. What it does mean is that you learn to rebuild or "bounce back" from these experiences.  To develop resiliency, you will want to focus on building particular skills, such as: making plans and carrying them out, developing confidence and a positive view of yourself, learning to manage strong feelings and impulses, and learning to communicate and problem solve efficiently. Learning to manage your emotions is another important part of becoming emotionally and mentally strong. You may not be able to control what life throws at you, but you always have a choice about how you react. Again, this is something that is not innate; anyone can learn to manage his or her emotions productively. Before you can build up your mental and emotional strength, you will need to take an inventory of your strengths and challenges to determine what you would like to change. Make a list of as many of your strengths and challenges as you can think of. Once you have finished your list, figure out how to turn each of your challenges into a goal that you can work towards. For example, you might have included on your list of challenges that you have difficulty asserting your needs. If you want to work on this issue, you would say that your goal is to become more assertive. In addition to identifying areas for change, you should take time to celebrate your strengths. Read through the list of your strengths and congratulate yourself for these positive traits. Giving yourself a little pat on the back now and then will help you to stay focused on your positive qualities and help build up your mental and emotional strength. The reason why you might be feeling like you lack mental or emotional strength may be linked to something that happened to you in the past. Whether this thing happened just a few months ago or when you were very young, it may be affecting your mental and emotional strength. Research has shown that children who are abused, neglected, or otherwise endangered are more likely have emotional and mental issues, which may cause them to abuse drugs or attempt suicide.  Try to determine if negative childhood experiences may be contributing to your mental and emotional states. Consider how and why those experiences may have affected you the way that they have. You may need to talk to a therapist about your childhood experiences in order to fully understand them, deal with them, and move on. An addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex, or something else may be damaging your mental and emotional strength. If you think that you are addicted to something,  seek help to get rid of your bad habits. You may require treatment if your addiction is severe. Talk to a therapist or a doctor if you think that an addiction may be damaging your mental and emotional strength. Journaling can help you to understand what may have caused you to experience these challenges, and it is also a great way to relieve stress. To get started with journaling, choose a comfortable place and plan to devote about 20 minutes per day to writing. You can start by writing about how you are feeling or what you are thinking, or you can use a prompt. Some prompts you might use include:  “I feel powerless when…” “My biggest challenge is...” “If I could talk to myself when I was a child, I would say…” “When I am feeling low, the nicest thing I could do or say to myself is…” Without help, it may be hard to figure out why you feel you are struggling and determine the best way to deal with your feelings. A licensed mental health professional can help you to understand your feelings and help you work through them. Keep in mind that feeling mentally and emotionally fragile may be part of an underlying mental health condition that requires treatment. Talking to a therapist can help you understand what is going on and decide on the best course of action.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Understand what it means to be emotionally resilient. Learn about emotional regulation. Identify specific areas that you would like to change. Acknowledge your strengths. Consider your past experiences. Determine if you have an addiction that requires treatment. Track your thoughts and feelings in a journal. Consider talking to a therapist.
Article: When a nuclear weapon detonates, it creates a thermal pulse which can set things 20 mi (32 km) away on fire. You can often build a shelter in your backyard if you can position it so that both rainwater and water behind dams runs away from it. You will also need to consider where the utility lines are in your area so you don’t disturb them.  Try to select stable ground where trees and buildings won’t fall on your shelter. If you’re in a city, you can build a reinforced shelter in a basement. The concrete can protect you from fallout and falling debris. Research the topography of your area. Your government’s local land survey office will have them available. Also, check with the emergency response office. Avoid positioning your shelter downhill from bodies of water or below steep slopes. Keep it clear of flammable buildings. Having a clear blueprint will help you construct a stable, effective shelter. You can find some basic plans simply by searching for fallout shelter blueprints online. Some plans may even include a step by step overview for building the shelter.  You can also get blueprints by consulting an architect or drafter. They can provide guidance on what shelter best suits your needs. Most building construction companies can build a shelter for you. Even if you don’t want to hire someone to design a shelter, sketch your own plans before beginning construction. You can try using a computer program like SketchUp. Plot out the shelter’s perimeter according to your blueprint. Plant a series of wooden stakes in the ground to outline the shelter’s perimeter. Then, use shovels, axes, and other tools to dig up grass, trees, rocks, and other debris in the area.  Clear the land about 10 ft (3.0 m) beyond the shelter’s perimeter so you have plenty of space to work with. The shelter’s size is up to you. Expect to add about 3 ft (0.91 m) to the shelter’s length for every person who will hide there. A basic 4-person shelter is about 10 × 10 × 10 ft (3.0 × 3.0 × 3.0 m) in size. Begin digging out soil to form the basic outline of your shelter. You can do this with shovels, although it takes a lot of time and labor. Move the excavated dirt 10 ft (3.0 m) beyond the stakes. You will need to keep the dirt away so it doesn’t fall back into the trench.  For quicker work, rent a backhoe from an equipment company near you. This can get pricey, but speeding up the excavation process is often worth it. Digging a deeper trench means more space and blast protection for your shelter. The emergency exit will also serve as extra ventilation. At the end of the trench, dig a crawl space about 2 ft (0.61 m) wide and 3 1⁄2 ft (1.1 m) deep. The crawl space will be right below the soil’s surface. Create an exit at the end by digging a small trench to connect the crawl space to the outside world.  You can build dirt steps as needed to reach the surface. Pile dirt near the entryway, then begin digging into it with a shovel. Shape the dirt into small steps. Lay threshold boards over each steps, connecting them to side boards with 10 in (25 cm) lag bolts. Always have a second exit in your shelter to guard against emergencies. Create the main entryway the same way you built the emergency exit. This time, dig on the opposite end of the shelter. You can make this entryway a little wider so you have an easier time entering the shelter. Keep the entryway below ground, emerging away from the shelter’s main living quarters. The main entrance will not have air pumps or ventilation pipes running through it, so it may appear larger by default.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Choose a building area on stable ground away from obstructions. Print out a blueprint for the shelter you want to make. Stake out and clear the building area for construction. Dig a trench and move the dirt out of the excavation area. Create an emergency exit at the far end of the trench. Make a second crawl-way for the entrance.