How we respond to the challenges of Y2k  both as individuals and as a society is not only influenced by our own usual ways of approaching a problem, but by the quality of the information that is available to us. As many of the articles available from links on this website have stressed, we are in most cases given information about Y2k compliancy that is self-reported, from institutions that have a vested interest in reporting only happy talk. What actions and words will serve to empower people about Y2k preparation, and what circumstances will cause them to panic rather than calmly prepare in advance for emergencies?
                                   
              Maybe Y2k will be the proverbial bump in the road, as some say. But if it isn't, and cascading failures of this unprecedented event cause large-scale disruptions,  we may be dealing with a crisis that not only could bring severe physical challenges but could stress our coping skills.
      *What might the effect of Y2k disruptions do to the cigarette supply, and would we have large numbers of nicotine-dependent people suddenly having to quit cold turkey?  Do you know someone who should get in supplies of Nicoderm or other smoking-cessation aids?
      *Would those people who depend on prescriptions of psychoactive drugs to maintain their equilibrium be able to obtain their supplies without interruption?  (And if you are one of these people who could be so affected, have you been talking with your doctor about obtaining extra supplies of the medications you need well in advance of 1/1/2000?) 
      *How compliant are the psychiatric institutions which care for some of our  most vulnerable people?  What are their contingency plans?
      *Would many people be thrown into grieving for a world where all the rules suddenly changed?
      *If you are a mental health field professional, have you been alert to the impacts widescale Y2k disruptions could conceivably have on your clients, and are you working with them to minimize anxiety and maximize their coping skills?

              One of our local Y2k researchers was interested to see her reactions to the power coming on after almost 4 days of no electricity due to Hurricane Floyd. She flushed her toilets, and then  with a sense of relief went online to check in with online friends and colleagues, to see if all in the storm's area had weathered the storm well. She then took a break to check the freezer in the basement, and found herself sobbing over the smell from a single packet of rotting food that hadn't done well, and felt shaky the rest of the day.

              Sometimes it takes so little to upset the equilibrium of those who are usually well-grounded. What does something like this or Y2k do to those who are even more fragile?

The Y2k Disconnect 
Part one at http://www.y2knewswire.com/19990628qr.htm 
Part two at  http://www.y2knewswire.com/19990629cv.htm   
According to this article on the denial of Y2k problems and their consequences, THE Y2K DISCONNECT IS?
"?the conscious (or unconscious) ability to zoom in so close that the big picture isn't just missed; it is beyond the periphery. It is the ability to ignore interconnectedness in all its forms: between a news outlet and its owners, between a manufacturer and its parts suppliers, between a government-run benefits program and its beneficiaries. It is also the unwillingness to question mainstream news reports."

Articles by Douglass Carmichael on the psychology of Y2k
http://www.tmn.com/~doug/
Set up in that wretched frames format, so click on "y2k" in the left menu and then click on his "Y2k writings." Carmichael is interested in both the personal and organizational responses to Y2k.

Y2k spiritual and emotional challenges
http://www.co-intelligence.org/y2k_spiritchallenges.html
How the Y2k crisis presents us with both challenges and possibilities.

The Millennium Contagion:  Is Your Mental Software Year 2000 Compliant?
http://www.mcs.net/~aaron/tmc.htm.
" Thought contagions are beliefs that program for their own copying in humans much as computer viruses do in computers. Their self-spreading effect explains the techno-apocalypse ideas swirling around the Y2K bug, including secular hell-doomsday ideas, logic-resistant strains of myth, and embedded rumors. Knowing this can help everyone, and prevent the panicked departure of programmers and other key personnel just when we need them most?" --- Aaron Lynch

"The Psychology of Y2k"
http://www.y2kculture.com/features/psychology.html 
The psychology of Y2k, viewed  with perspectives  that might be useful for mental health professionals to consider.

Transforming Y2k
http://www.earley.org/Y2K/y2k_frame.htm
                  Jay Earley on empowering people to deal with Y2k. Includes section of workshop exercises for groups, and other material on psychospiritual aspects of Y2k.

The Truth about Panic
http://www.michaelhyatt.com/askmichael/075.htm
                  "...Using definitions and criteria that, in the disaster mental health field, are extraordinary in their simplicity, novelty, and complete falsehood, Mr. Greenspan and Mr. Koskinen have repeatedly implied in their public statements on Y2K that two preparedness behaviors--withdrawing cash from private bank accounts and the purchase and storing of more than a three-day supply
of food--are not only unnecessary, but also indicative of or likely to lead to widespread panic..."
                  Analysis of the persistent mentions of "panic" by  officials  who have used that as a reason to not ask the public for more that 3 days of preparation.