Is "preparedness" a state of mind?

[TeeDee]

I think, as diverse a group as we are, we are in danger of assuming the mass public see things in a similar way to us; I think, by definition, this group looks wider and searches for solutions with a broader toolset.

I am constantly amazed at how little planning most people carry out though. I am probably guilty of over-planning (according to the missus anyway); I always produce a list of kit I need even just to go down and work in the wood, and I will usually list the tasks I intend to carry out and, maybe, the order in which I will do them. Maybe this is a kind of compulsive attitude but I also think I am more than capable of solving problems as they occur.

I'm far from a 'prepper' in the current popular context, but the way we live (no mains water, frequent power cuts, no waste drainage, miles from any shop, easily cut off by weather) means that we have to plan for potential scenarios, and that does fall into 'being prepared'. Of course, the most important 'preparation' is having the skill set and the mind set to deal with problems.

So, in answer to GC's question, yes, I think being prepared is mainly a state of mind that being a 'prepper' has probably taken to an extreme (maybe, even, an unhealthy extreme in some cases - life's about living, not constantly prepping for the unlikely).

My Scoutmaster ( RIP ) was a brilliant man , something I probably only appreciate more now than then.. He would leave the planning of any camping activities to the Scouts themselves - we would have to present a list of things we needed to draw from the store and actively think ahead and plan what we would need. Food , Water , Shelter , Cooking equipment. A check list for each scout to bring with them from home.

A great mental exercise for young minds in accountability and self reliant action / thinking .


I guess the common and rather obvious trending word amongst most answers and examples is simply - Self Reliance.
The mindset that if I/We don't make plans or actions there shouldn't be an expectation that others will rush to assist ( Be that friends ,family, Neighbours , Government )

 

[demented dale]

just some random thoughts - so aimed at no one person , so please don't take offence.

Wearing a seat belt isn't preparing - its a legal compliance.
Carrying a spare wheel 'maybe' the most basic prepping action - but only if the car came supplied with no spare wheel ( as many new ones seem to do now ) and you've gone and sourced and purchased one - I guess that is a very basic prep. So basic - most of the general public would think nothing of it if you mentioned it to them down the Pub. Why - because its a HIGH Probable risk event..

Home insurance I guess could be seen as a prep - future preparation for a known unpredictable event - but how many of us actually know a friend or family member who has has had their house burn down? The reason we obtain the insurance is the literal cost of not doing so vs the costs of the premium is a no brainer vs the cost implication of not having the insurance in place for the improbable event.

So I think 'prepping' must be seen as somewhere on that spectrum of possible , but unlikely events that may occur - and the level or extent of how one preps for that ( could just be a mental ticklist , thought process and action plan vs actual physical preps etc ) vs what the majority of people are doing.

I say that because society does seem to consider what is 'normal' to be set by the majority and what is abnormal set by the minority - a month before Covid struck , if you had been in the minority and stockpiling masks , bleach , food goods and toilet paper the general public would have been sceptical of your minority actions.

3 months into Covid and EVERYONE seemed to be on board the prepping train of sorts - and all actions were seen as justified and sane.


So the analogy that sticks with me is marching ( as a group ) to the beat of a drum - it doesn't matter if you are marching in time with the drum and everyone else is out of step - you will be seen as the anomaly. Until the majority marches in time and you join them prepping will always be on the outlier fringe perspective of society acceptance because those that practice it are seemed as odd because they are questioning if society ( supply lines , utilities , infrastructure , law and order ) is stable or actually susceptible to unforseen catastrophes.

And that makes people nervous.



# addition - I also think the prepping mindset can be a cultural inheritance from what ever country and history one has experienced ( even if one has moved to a new country ) - Grandparents from the War year - Polish people - etc #



All that being said - I think if there was ever a time where a prepping type mindset is more likely to be fostered amongst more people - it is probably now. If we look at events over just the last 5 years the public I would imagine are somewhat primed for a more self - resilience based world view.

I beg to differ. Wearing a seat belt is prepping. If it was not a law I would still wear one. The point I was making is that anything you put in place before a situation with regards to preserving life is preparation. x

 

[slowworm]

I am interested on what others think about this, and also what proportion of society would be capable of rendering assistance to themselves or their community in the event of a difficult situation vs the number of folks who would wait for the "authorities" to come and rescue them.

Thinking about this a bit, I'm not sure if being more self reliant (for want of a better phrase) is genetic or passed down from parents or other guardians. I probably picked up some things from my parents but most of my interests I've picked up on my own. Hobbies to start with but then becoming more of a natural way of life. (Things such as growing fruit and veg and cutting all our own firewood).

Over the last few years it has become more essential as it has become apparent that where we live the various powers that he seem to regard basic services as purely optional and people in various senior positions seemingly have little idea about the world outside of their tiny bubble (e.g. It's become very common for people to not comprehend anyone else not having a mobile phone signal). So I'm fully aware than when something like a large storm hits we're on our own for several days and have suitable arrangements in place.

I regard this as common sense but I'm aware not everyone can cope as during the last few storms other residents fled for more comfortable surroundings. If I was to throw names around I'd call them Townies, people after the good bits of the countryside without understanding or being able to cope with the bad bits. It would be interesting to hear their view point.

 

[TeeDee]

I beg to differ. Wearing a seat belt is prepping. If it was not a law I would still wear one. The point I was making is that anything you put in place before a situation with regards to preserving life is preparation. x

Thats ok , its fine to have a difference of opinion - yours on that point is one I don't share or agree with - and thats ok.

By your definition , shopping and eating could be seen as prepping ( anything you put in place before a situation with regards to preserving life is preparation.)- and to me that simply doesn't fit the model of what most people see as Prepping.

But , each to their own!!

 

[Falstaff]

Shopping and eating are definitely prepping, it can affect what you buy and eat. I used to ensure that I always had a decent breakfast because I had no certainty of when I was next going to be able to eat.

Similarly, I bulk buy on what I think is going to become in relatively short supply, e.g. Reports of very bad durum wheat harvest and resultant shortage of pasta leading to cost increases. Same thing with Coffee and Olive oil. I buy fresh based partly on seasonality but mainly on storage/preservation over the forthcoming week "plan", to prevent waste, or running out of a key item due to wastage. I have a fair stock of healthy ready cooked pouches for when I'm too late or tired or ill to cook. When you are solo these things have greater importance.
I also of course keep a stock of disaster prepping food and items for the often ref's 72 hours, I assume a week at least - most likely to have an impact is power failure, water contamination and serious bugs doing the rounds - all of which happen from time to time (Besides Covid, Norovirus is not one one to catch and handling goods/food in a supermarket is a good way to catch it).

 

[Falstaff]

I think it's a state of mind and wariness either instilled in you from when young, or from learning from adverse incidents of others or yourself. To what degree depends upon each individual's unique characteristics, right up to a form of paranoia that others might consider a mental illness.
Depending on how you take it, it can either give you a sense of peace of mind, or keep you in a nervous state.

I see the FBI are now claiming that the guy who shot some US Democrat politicians and their husbands was an extreme Prepper, but that's not prepping, that's a mental illness, even if "only" due to extreme gullability - which is entirely possible in that case. However, I have no belief in the credibility or truth of any of the forces of the USA.

 

[TeeDee]

Shopping and eating are definitely prepping, it can affect what you buy and eat. I used to ensure that I always had a decent breakfast because I had no certainty of when I was next going to be able to eat.

So by that logic anyone that uses any any shopping outlet for food is a prepper.

Should be an easy sale to get them further along yet seems interesting when their is a blip in the JITOS logistical chain most of those people have no spare food in their house because they have become reliant upon it.
Which brings me back to the thought that simply saying shopping for food = prepping , is a bit of a bad / poor thought process.



( If the thought process is more nuanced as in " I buy 4 cans of X - 2 to use , 2 to lay off as a longer term supply " then I think THAT is the distinction - to me saying food shopping is Prepping is just respectfully some bad logic - hence the example of why most people have less than 4 days additional food in their house - it doesn't ring true )

 

[Chris]

I think we’re conflating two things here which are distinct, and it doesn’t seem reasonable to say they’re the same.

There’s prepping as a contraction of ‘preparing’ as it would be used in every day language to just mean ‘getting something ready’, a verb.

Then there’s Prepping (big P) which is done by a Prepper, a noun.

Saying those two things are the same doesn’t seem reasonable and will make it difficult to have an honest discussion about what it is.

 

[Broch]

I'm not sure they are distinct things; the 'p' just gets bigger the more one is 'prepping' for one or more specific, less-unlikely, events. So me preparing for power cuts and, hence, loss of water supply is 'preparing' with a relatively small 'p' - if I start filling the garage with six months of tinned food to cope with WW3, that's 'Preparing' with a much larger 'P'.

But, the question was 'is it a state of mind?' - and, as I think TeeDee proposed, it appears to be a spectrum that ranges from a casual planning process to a 'paranoid hording in case of the improbable event' activity.

 

[TeeDee]

I think we’re conflating two things here which are distinct, and it doesn’t seem reasonable to say they’re the same.

There’s prepping as a contraction of ‘preparing’ as it would be used in every day language to just mean ‘getting something ready’, a verb.

Then there’s Prepping (big P) which is done by a Prepper, a noun.

Saying those two things are the same doesn’t seem reasonable and will make it difficult to have an honest discussion about what it is.

Exactly that.

Which I hope I was making clear.

Its the reason when a certain Mindset creates a series of implemented proactive-actions for a potential future expectation.

 

[Falstaff]

Exactly that.

Which I hope I was making clear.

Its the reason when a certain Mindset creates a series of implemented proactive-actions for a potential future expectation.

Hey! We finally got there, a Definition of Prepping.

 

[TeeDee]

Hey! We finally got there, a Definition of Prepping.

Maybe - and as I think I mentioned earlier - I do think that is a spectrum and possibly once it passes a certain point of mental energy , financial investment and time investment could be considered to be a mental illness UNLESS the changes you are making in the here and now are effectively improving ones quality of life in the present - ie , I would see making the jump to a Homestead raising animals and having veg garden etc as a life improvement but certain ticks off a lot of prepping tick boxes.

The difference is the payback is immediate and an improvement in quality of life.

 

[Chris]

Maybe - and as I think I mentioned earlier - I do think that is a spectrum and possibly once it passes a certain point of mental energy , financial investment and time investment could be considered to be a mental illness UNLESS the changes you are making in the here and now are effectively improving ones quality of life in the present - ie , I would see making the jump to a Homestead raising animals and having veg garden etc as a life improvement but certain ticks off a lot of prepping tick boxes.

The difference is the payback is immediate and an improvement in quality of life.

It could be a symptom or byproduct of some of the more common mental illnesses/neurodivergent conditions. If you look at things like OCD or some presentations of autism, I could see how organising and obsessively making 10,000 jars of pickled onions might be an outlet. But also if you are anxious and/or depressed, it’s a very tangible way of making yourself feel like you’re taking control of something, when other parts of your life may feel they lack that control.

That said, I expect there are plenty of people out there who do it just for fun as an activity to focus on. Perhaps that could then draw them down the paths of paranoia due to exposure to others partaking in it, or due to social media algorithms, but them starting into prepping wasn’t necessarily caused by anything worrying in the first place.

I suspect that it’s more complex than just having one explanation, it’s probably an activity which draws from such a wide range of people that it’d be impossible to put it down to any one thing. Though perhaps some ‘groups’ are more prone to it than others.

That’s a long way of me saying “It is a lot of states of mind and it’ll depend on who you ask.”

 

[TeeDee]

It could be a symptom or byproduct of some of the more common mental illnesses/neurodivergent conditions. If you look at things like OCD or some presentations of autism, I could see how organising and obsessively making 10,000 jars of pickled onions might be an outlet. But also if you are anxious and/or depressed, it’s a very tangible way of making yourself feel like you’re taking control of something, when other parts of your life may feel they lack that control.

That said, I expect there are plenty of people out there who do it just for fun as an activity to focus on. Perhaps that could then draw them down the paths of paranoia due to exposure to others partaking in it, or due to social media algorithms, but them starting into prepping wasn’t necessarily caused by anything worrying in the first place.

I suspect that it’s more complex than just having one explanation, it’s probably an activity which draws from such a wide range of people that it’d be impossible to put it down to any one thing. Though perhaps some ‘groups’ are more prone to it than others.

That’s a long way of me saying “It is a lot of states of mind and it’ll depend on who you ask.”

Ref the last point- that is part of the concern because its possible to get consumed in an echo chamber of similar minds and then escalates the justification. And also actions.

 

[slowworm]

I still think there is a distinction between normal living and preparing for something that may never happen. Our pantry has a couple of months of food in it but I know we will use it all, it is not there as a 'just in case' reason. If I kept some freeze dried rations that I had no intention of eating until the zombies are getting too numerous to avoid then that's prepping.

There will be an overlap, but for me that's based on normal reasoning. For example I bought a spare wheel for my car as I've had punctures. I carry a wheel nut wrench to undo wheel nuts not to deal with said zombies.

 

[TeeDee]

I still think there is a distinction between normal living and preparing for something that may never happen. Our pantry has a couple of months of food in it but I know we will use it all, it is not there as a 'just in case' reason. If I kept some freeze dried rations that I had no intention of eating until the zombies are getting too numerous to avoid then that's prepping.

There will be an overlap, but for me that's based on normal reasoning. For example I bought a spare wheel for my car as I've had punctures. I carry a wheel nut wrench to undo wheel nuts not to deal with said zombies.

I guess you've reached a point where stock rotation is achieved by stock use whilst still not dipping into your pantry too much - at any point you have a large amount of food in stock and any shopping it more replenishing the small amount you've used.

 

[Pattree]

That’s a long way of me saying “It is a lot of states of mind and it’ll depend on who you ask.”

Totally agree.
All I know about “prepping” comes from what I’ve read. What I’ve read has been written by people who identify as Preppers or who are commenting on the practice.

I get the impression that, in an overcrowded world where little is within individual control, many of us are seeking some form of identity, something that sets us apart from the crowd. We all have an identity, no harm in that in its own.

My issue is that in preparing for a societal breakdown, the vociferous ones also seem to be wishing for it. They are “prepared” and want to act. Where preparation includes firearms/weapons this must be a concern.

 

[Kadushu]

Maybe create a hierarchy of preps.

PREPPING - Gas masks, hazmat suits, nuclear bunker, years' worth of food. Stuff that you probably won't need.

Prepping - Generator, torches, candles, weeks of food, emergency cash/savings. Stuff that you might use once a year to once a decade due to something that disrupts everyday life. Storms, floods, large unexpected bills, etc.

prepping - a bit of extra food in the pantry, spare batteries, spare cash, jerry can of fuel. Things that you might need on a weekly to monthly basis that just smooth out the bumps in everyday life.

preparing - basically everyday items, ordinary shopping, having clothes washed and dried for when you need them. A basic level of organisation.

 

[Broch]

Mmm... but you then need to add the other dimension of where one lives. As I said we have to have contingency because of where we live and the frequency of disruption (power, weather, infrastructure wear) - your list would put me in the 'Prepping' category yet for us it's just sensible precautions and stuff we would use several times a year if not more frequently

 

[TeeDee]

I get the main gist is that people whilst putting aside Preps of various sorts - want to not be labelled as Preppers..


And I can understand why.



There really is no reason people need to identify as Preppers unless one want to signal that is their mindset and concerns to either attract others of like minded natures or to reinforce a sense of self??