Trust is never guaranteed. After a societal collapse, the stress levels of the average person will spike. People you know and love may act very differently under these levels of duress. Family members or close friends may show sides of themselves you never knew existed. Integrating with others, you didn't know before the collapse will be risky but necessary. How will you know whom to trust?

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Start making a group now. It sounds easy, right? Wrong. It is much harder than you think to find like-minded individuals. Most people aren't thinking about who they would get along with after a collapse. They are tucking their head in the sand and praying it will never happen. Once you find some folks that share your ideas and values, you have to determine if you could trust them for the long term.

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Asking if they have a concealed carry weapons (CCW) permit is a great idea. The government has already vetted people with a CCW. If they had a criminal record or questionable character, they would not have been allowed to obtain the permit.

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Once you begin forming a group, test your ability to get along: plan long hikes and backpacking trips. Inevitably something will go wrong, and it tests your ability to work together. You will be able to know at that point if the relationship is going to work or not—plan other activities to test the grit of the individuals as well. Butchery sessions, airsoft, and preparedness classes are a great way to gauge how your team does working together.

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Knowing how to build trust is an essential life skill that will come in handy after a collapse. When working with your team, rotate responsibilities. Not only is it a good idea for everyone to learn how to do many skills, but it breaks the monotony of always being assigned the same task.

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Keeping your team informed about options and outcomes is critical as well. Talk about an excellent way to make decisions now, while everyone has a level head. If you have a plan in place for solving discrepancies written down, it will be much easier to enforce later.

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Help others in your group accomplish their goals, even if it is not in your scope of work. Pitching in to help others instills confidence in you as a person that you will be there when they need help. Working together builds comradery. It allows you to laugh, strain, and share with one another.

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Own your mistakes. Everybody makes them. Know that you will not perform perfectly one hundred percent of the time. Work hard and do your best, but understand sometimes you will need help. Also, with increased stress levels, you will need to slow down and make sure important tasks get a double check.

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When difficult issues arise, work it out. Do not let problems linger. Leaving matters unaddressed only allows them to fester. It is crucial to have open, calm communication lines. Practice now. Talk to your loved ones and learn to discuss issues so that you already have an understanding of how to navigate difficult conversations. When people go under duress, it will become a more difficult challenge.

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If you are trying to acquire new members now or in a post-collapse situation, you need to know how to spot a liar. The first thing you need to do is develop a baseline understanding of a person's typical body language when they are having a candid conversation. Observe an individual while making small talk and answering routine questions. When individuals lie, they often depart from their standard body language.

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If individuals use their non-dominant hand while gesturing, it is usually a sign they are lying.

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Also, watch out for shifty eye movement. If their eyes are darting back and forth, it is a sign they are lying. They may look around a lot. People tend to move their eyes in a direction when remembering what they saw, heard, or felt. Right-handed individuals usually look left when they remember what they saw. However, if they are looking right, it may be a sign, they are accessing their imagination.

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People tend to be asymmetrical and try to distribute their left and right side equally. An individual's balance may falter while lying. They may rock or shift. Their heads may tilt. Also, they may smirk instead of a smile. When a person genuinely smiles, their face bunches in the cheeks and wrinkles around their eyes. A smirk only involves the mouth.

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A person's blink may be off as well. Typically, if the blinking rate changes, the brain is at work. Rapid blinking or five to six flashes in quick succession can be an indicator of lying. Also, an individual may close their eyes for more than a second.

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Liars often look like they are ready to leave. Their feet may point toward the door, or their head may tilt towards the door.

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The capillaries in the face often activate while someone is lying. They may subconsciously rub their nose or touch their face a lot. Women will blush when lying more often than men.

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Try to pay attention to how someone's body language is making you feel. If you feel weird or sick, you may be catching the liar's vibe.

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A liar may sweat a lot, and they'll often rub their forehead, cheeks, or back of the neck.

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People often shake their heads while talking. When they are confidently standing behind their beliefs, an individual usually shakes their head positively. However, if you pay attention, liars will sometimes shake their heads negatively, basically telling you they are not telling you the truth.

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After society collapses, it will be tough to find someone to trust. Selco, a survivor of the Bosnian civil wars, explains what he experienced in multiple different articles. One of the notes that he makes is that people who are not bound by laws will act maliciously. Even today, the powerful can do what they want with little repercussions. It is not a new phenomenon. However, there are sick and dangerous people all around us. They are not acting on their thoughts because they are under the threat of the law. Those individuals may be family members and trusted individuals in your life.

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Most of us, including myself, would like to believe that people are good-natured, but Selco claims this is not the case. The criminal element of today was the first to step up and take advantage of the situation. These people control through black markets, extortion, and violent threats.

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When you're dealing with average people, you will need to have enough supplies so you can hold out and see how they react. Try to know good people now because no society is above the possibility of collapse. Average people in these societies may turn a blind eye to the plight of others for their survival. Don't think you can't be forced to comply. When it's four against three hundred, you lose. There is no help from the police and no hospital to go to if you injure yourself in a battle. The lack of support means you want to use violence as a last resort.

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The people that became victims were people with exciting things and no defense. Loners and older adults were also easy targets. The threat will not always be out to kill you. They may be interested in adding you to the group because of your skillset.

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When society falls apart, you do not want to attract attention. Don't look like a prepper or someone who has lots of supplies. You could even make your home look like looters pilfered it already. Camouflage your defenses in normalcy. Use funneling techniques and have door reinforcements on hand. Survival is about the lives of you and your family, not your stuff.

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Be ready for violence when you meet someone. Have the means and tools to defend yourself. Above all, be smart. If something doesn't feel right, avoid it if possible. Fight only when necessary, and know the media is there to build fear, not make you feel warm and fuzzy.

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Works cited:

https://www.insider.com/how-to-tell-if-someone-is-lying-body-language-2018-6#10-how-their-body-language-makes-you-feel-10

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https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tell-someones-lying-by-watching-their-face-2016-1?op=1#pay-attention-to-which-direction-they-shake-their-head-12

 

https://www.theorganicprepper.com/selco-who-dangerous-trust-shtf/

 

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-02-13/brutal-truth-about-violence-when-shtf

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https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-build-trust-on-your-team-3575707