There is a saying that death is so close to every and each one of us in every moment, so close that actually, it breathes down back of our neck, and I kinda believe that. Still, we are so unaware of its face, and we are so reluctant to see it, both in philosophical and physical term too. It is in human nature to ignore it, to act almost like it does not exist.

When the SHTF, that attitude can bring you some problems simply because death probably will happen more often around you. You need to prep for it – and for the dead bodies that come with it – both mentally and physically.

Dealing with dead bodies

I read years ago a comment in some forum that said (paraphrasing)" if you find a body and that body belongs to a raider, you just leave it there (in front of your house) and put a note on it that says "You are next if you try to break into my home…"

Then there are comments about composting bodies or getting rid of them by burning and many other methods.

And of course, there are words of advice about how all bodies need to be handled with high respect and so on.

Some comments make sense. But others (just like many comments in survival forums and blogs) are simply comments from people who read about the idea. Or maybe they heard it from a guy who heard it from another guy who was someone who read about it in some fiction book or saw it in a movie.

Obviously, they have not dealt with bodies ever in their life, or at least not during an SHTF scenario.

Let's try to keep it to basic practical advice: what you need to have and what to do with a body.

What do you do with a body?

After you come into a situation where you have a body that you need to deal with there are a few important things for you to think about:

Does it belong to a loved one?

How dangerous is the situation outside?

What is the level of SHTF?

Usually, the answer to these questions will determine your actions. Dealing with a body may range from leaving it outside to rot up to having almost a full funeral service in the closest graveyard.

Let's try to cover some basics.