How did you became interested in prepping?

[Arzosah]

Research - I think about stuff. Then I look online. I'll read ordinary newspaper articles from opposing political biases (my go-to are the Guardian and the Daily Mail ). There are alternative websites I trust, alternative websites that give me pointers as to where to go to find out about issues they raise, there are government and official websites (the weather, government publications like this one: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... sment-2017. And there are individuals who write authoritatively, with knowledge and passion, like Tamra Fakhoorian writes about duckweed: https://duckweedgardening.com/

For medical stuff, especially when I'm writing for the blog, I'm wary of straying too far from mainstream websites - NHS, HSE, WebMD, the Red Cross. I used to work a lot with trauma survivors, and I've been looking at free online help for survivors recently, but I've not written anything about it yet. I always put links in my text to the original work. Mainstream trauma writing in this country is pretty much all based on CBT, like it or lump it. It has its place, but it's not the only thing that can help.

I also am coming in as an outsider which I find is a good way of learning about something in detail as you tend to ask questions which insiders would take for granted (see some of the questions I have been rightly mocked about for example ). It enables you to build up a detailed understanding of something that can eliminate any potentially biases that long-term engagement might have. There are adv and disadv to different approaches I suppose.

I'm still not sure where you've been mocked, as opposed to people having a laugh with one another on your introductory thread, but this is the second time you've mentioned it. Can you let us know? I remember giving you a serious answer when you gave an answer that you described as flippant when you mentioned being trapped in a car after a car crash, which is the opposite.

I don't agree that I am asking leading questions. This is an exploratory study so I don't have any set hypotheses we are trying to actually 'lead' towards answering so I don't have anything to lead towards at this early stage. I am just trying to find my feet at this stage. Questions that might seem biased are probably just to provoke conversation around a particular area. For example, my reference to nuclear attacks etc. actually did me a world of good in terms of understanding what prepping actually 'is' as many of the users called me out on my ignorance and really articulated the distinction between the stereotype and the reality. Also, I will obviously look over any data I have in detail and be able to figure out if I have made mistakes and whether certain answers to questions should be contextualised by potential bias or mistakes on my part. If you want to discuss this in more detail I can PM you or vice versa.

I loved woodcutter's post, and if there's any further conversation sparked by it, I personally would love to see it continue on the open forum.

Real life prepping, as opposed to media fantasies about nuclear attacks, was unexpectedly brought to mind consistently this morning for me, when I was reading Guardian Online: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... bt-climate I'm not in that demographic, and people in my family who are, aren't having those problems, but I can well understand they're widespread.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... ulator-cqc
The whole country is in this demographic, unfortunately, as winter approaches.

Prepping helps us take care of ourselves, our family, and sometimes neighbours too, in these situations.

[GPS]

(1) The amount of research that many of you do is really impressive. I am wondering (as someone whose job is to do research) what sources do you use to ensure the information you are receiving is accurate? I say this as it has become increasingly difficult in my job to direct students to appropriate sources that can be verified etc. Is there much conflict and dispute about some of the stats that are presented within this community for example?

I can only speak for myself but, it's pretty obvious from the way articles are written whether or not they are "scholarly" in nature, but that in itself is not a reason to believe everything they say, neither is it a reason not to believe un-scholarly articles. Reading their bibliography enables you to see where they have come from, and it's always good to see primary sources there, and worrying when they're not. But importantly it often reveals their agenda, whether they know that is what they've done or not. The bibliography also gives you further sources to read - which can be very interesting as you may come to a different conclusion about that source than did the author of the original article. Peer review of the articles is important, but the main aim is trying to go where possible to primary sources yourself and draw your own conclusions. Reading as many different articles about a subject as possible is always revealing. Oftentimes you can see they are just regurgitating what others say, repeating the same, sometimes wrong, information. At the very least you learn of the axiom texts that everyone refers to (e.g. if you're researching attachment theory you have to read Bowlby) Sometimes there will be someone who introduces a paradigm shift and offers quite compelling evidence about it (e.g. David Rohl's restructuring of the timeline of the ancient pharaohs). Sometimes you also have to accept that an academic has nailed their colours to the mast and after 30 years of making their name in that field they are not going to change their mind about their idea (e.g. Minsky and Strong AI). Unless the evidence for something is clear cut there will always be debate about the finer details: just how many people did die in the four years of Mao Tse Tung's Great Leap Forward? There are only estimates, and each researcher will have their own reason for coming up with the figure they have. But the point is everyone seems to agree that it was A Very Bad Thing in terms of population decline.

Do I always do this? No. If I were writing a PhD on prepping then most definitely I would, but I'm not. This is a hobby. My aim isn't to write the definitive guide to surviving a nuclear apocalypse, it's to help me get a grasp on what such a thing entails. When I, or other people, put up statistics or theories about things, if I am suitably interested I go off and I do some research which either supports what they put or doesn't. But even bad articles can be useful as they make you think and consolidate in your mind just why you disagree with them.

(2) I find it really interesting that you mention heart disease which is obviously one of the most likely ways we will die. This should obviously be the priority when ranking your risks. However, do you think that most preppers prioritise this risk, as in is it fair to safe that you are quite health conscious?

Yes your health should indeed be your No.1 prep. But the problem with health is that it (usually) involves lifestyle changes, which are quite difficult to do. Very difficult for most of us. Much more difficult than buying a shiny new rucksack, or building a food store, or learning how to make fire from two boy scouts. It's also quite boring in comparison to spending the weekend under canvas in the wood with a group of like-minded friends. Some people love exercise and for them it's really not a problem, but for the rest of us it's a daily chore. Some people are tea total by choice, others of us quite like a drink or three. Some people genuinely like eating small portions of well-balanced food, others of us struggle with not having at least one burger and chips a week, preferably with a bottle of the old scarlet vino! And although I have never been a smoker myself, my understanding is that it is really very hard to stop and most ex-smokers never really lose the cravings. Am I health conscious? Yes, inasmuch as I am conscious that I should treat it like a prep as, after all, it is the major risk in my life. Do I keep up with those preps...intermittently perhaps, but religiously...probably not.

I suppose it depends on the person. I would find it much more difficult to learn how to make fire and engaging in a lot of the preps I have come across would probably require minor lifestyle changes. However, as you indicate I might find it easier to learn if I got into it and it became a fun hobby.

This is a bit off the point but I was just curious what you mean by the reference to Marvin Minsky and not changing his mind. Its a topic that I like to read a bit about in my spare time.

[GPS]

Research - I think about stuff. Then I look online. I'll read ordinary newspaper articles from opposing political biases (my go-to are the Guardian and the Daily Mail ). There are alternative websites I trust, alternative websites that give me pointers as to where to go to find out about issues they raise, there are government and official websites (the weather, government publications like this one: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... sment-2017. And there are individuals who write authoritatively, with knowledge and passion, like Tamra Fakhoorian writes about duckweed: https://duckweedgardening.com/

For medical stuff, especially when I'm writing for the blog, I'm wary of straying too far from mainstream websites - NHS, HSE, WebMD, the Red Cross. I used to work a lot with trauma survivors, and I've been looking at free online help for survivors recently, but I've not written anything about it yet. I always put links in my text to the original work.

Mainstream trauma writing in this country is pretty much all based on CBT, like it or lump it. It has its place, but it's not the only thing that can help.

I also am coming in as an outsider which I find is a good way of learning about something in detail as you tend to ask questions which insiders would take for granted (see some of the questions I have been rightly mocked about for example ). It enables you to build up a detailed understanding of something that can eliminate any potentially biases that long-term engagement might have. There are adv and disadv to different approaches I suppose.

I'm still not sure where you've been mocked, as opposed to people having a laugh with one another on your introductory thread, but this is the second time you've mentioned it. Can you let us know? I remember giving you a serious answer when you gave an answer that you described as flippant when you mentioned being trapped in a car after a car crash, which is the opposite.

I don't agree that I am asking leading questions. This is an exploratory study so I don't have any set hypotheses we are trying to actually 'lead' towards answering so I don't have anything to lead towards at this early stage. I am just trying to find my feet at this stage. Questions that might seem biased are probably just to provoke conversation around a particular area. For example, my reference to nuclear attacks etc. actually did me a world of good in terms of understanding what prepping actually 'is' as many of the users called me out on my ignorance and really articulated the distinction between the stereotype and the reality. Also, I will obviously look over any data I have in detail and be able to figure out if I have made mistakes and whether certain answers to questions should be contextualised by potential bias or mistakes on my part. If you want to discuss this in more detail I can PM you or vice versa.

I loved woodcutter's post, and if there's any further conversation sparked by it, I personally would love to see it continue on the open forum.

Real life prepping, as opposed to media fantasies about nuclear attacks, was unexpectedly brought to mind consistently this morning for me, when I was reading Guardian Online: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... bt-climate I'm not in that demographic, and people in my family who are, aren't having those problems, but I can well understand they're widespread.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... ulator-cqc
The whole country is in this demographic, unfortunately, as winter approaches.

Prepping helps us take care of ourselves, our family, and sometimes neighbours too, in these situations.

What methods have you come across other than CBT? I know a lot of people who have done CBT but it seems to have been with mixed success. One interesting type of prep that came up in a couple of interviews I have done for this is mental health, specifically taking steps to ensure a healthy mind as well as body and to perhaps think about how one would react to emergencies or unexpected events. Similarly to physical health it should be an obvious priority as a prep but for whatever reason it did not immediately come to my mind and the individuals I talked to indicated that it was perhaps something that should be talked about more in the forums. You are obviously qualified to deal with people who experience trauma so have an expert-type interest in this area. I am wondering if it is a priority to actively take steps to train/prep the mind for unexpected events and potential trauma (e.g. coming across a car accident) or if this is something that you really can prepare for? I suppose a simpler question is if this is something that is commonly discussed within the community. My search within this particular forum only brought back a small amount of results.

Also, the use of the term 'mocked' is probably a poor choice on my part. I was in no way offended. I really appreciate the detailed and considered answers I am getting to my questions.

No further discussion yet on Woodcutter's concerns but again I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

[Arzosah]

What methods have you come across other than CBT? I know a lot of people who have done CBT but it seems to have been with mixed success.

Here's a couple of links for you to explore, both from national organisations:
http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk ... lling.html
http://www.itsgoodtotalk.org.uk/what-is ... of-therapy

One interesting type of prep that came up in a couple of interviews I have done for this is mental health, specifically taking steps to ensure a healthy mind as well as body and to perhaps think about how one would react to emergencies or unexpected events.

I think it will be crucial if NHS services are withdrawn even further. Because of my own professional life, I focus more on healing past trauma so that free choices can be made in the present day, rather than being limited by a previous situation - as an abused child, a person caught up in a war or an armed robbery, etc, those are the type of traumas I dealt with in my clients.

Training to react to emergencies and unexpected events is out of my field - a journalist named Amanda Ripley has a book entitled "The unthinkable: who survives when disaster strikes and why", but I've only speed read it seems good though.

Otherwise, that strikes me as being what the military do - train, train and train, so that if it comes to it, your body knows what to do and takes over.

Similarly to physical health it should be an obvious priority as a prep but for whatever reason it did not immediately come to my mind and the individuals I talked to indicated that it was perhaps something that should be talked about more in the forums. You are obviously qualified to deal with people who experience trauma so have an expert-type interest in this area. I am wondering if it is a priority to actively take steps to train/prep the mind for unexpected events and potential trauma (e.g. coming across a car accident) or if this is something that you really can prepare for? I suppose a simpler question is if this is something that is commonly discussed within the community. My search within this particular forum only brought back a small amount of results.

I don't think its commonly discussed - as for training for *us*, then especially in terms of first aid, you'll see people on here being encouraged to go on courses. And people who are eligible through work take as many courses as they're entitled to. But that takes you all the way along to "use it or lose it" - if you get the information, and don't practice, you lose the skills.

As for training the mind to face emergencies and trauma - you can to a certain extent, I suppose - sharing facts about what happens, pictures, knowledge about your own physiological reactions when confronted with certain events. Afterwards, there'd still be a whole lot of PTSD counselling.

So that only takes you so far - thats why army recruits get gassed or half drowned or whatever. If there were ever an apocalyptic type event, though, there wouldn't be any counsellors lined up ready to listen, and everyone would probably be working hard to survive, trauma would be ignored for a while by those healthy enough to do so, or it would incapacitate and then kill those that have been overcome by it (if you "freeze" in front of a sabre toothed tiger, it will kill you, whether or not you're freezing because of past trauma or fear of its teeth). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs comes into play here - air, water, safety, food, shelter, etc. Or read what Katniss needs in the arena in The Hunger Games or Catching Fire (seriously, not kidding there, I'm thinking of a blogpost on Katniss).

The need to train comes up in all sorts of non-emergency areas too, of course - gardening especially.


I confess, I'm making notes for a book but its just a series of notes so far, no research and no overall structure yet.

[Wood cutter]

No further discussion yet on Woodcutter's concerns but again I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

I don't think I really have anything else to add on the subject. To me, as a qualified and experienced researcher (albeit in a different field) GPS's posts just didn't 'ring true'. However, I feel it would be poor forum etiquette to pull a fellow professionals work apart on a public forum, especially as I am hiding behind a cloak of forum anonymity.

If anyone has any questions, however, or would like to discuss assessing, preparing for, or limiting risk, I'd be very happy to participate.

Equally, if anyone has any marketing or business strategy questions, feel free to ask.

[itsybitsy]

Equally, if anyone has any marketing or business strategy questions, feel free to ask.

OK, you can have that one. No more touting for business though. Given that you've got two houses, I don't think you need to trawl this board looking for business. :

[Wood cutter]

Equally, if anyone has any marketing or business strategy questions, feel free to ask.

OK, you can have that one. No more touting for business though. Given that you've got two houses, I don't think you need to trawl this board looking for business. :

LOL. Never trust a marketing consultant who needs to resort to spamming forums to pick up clients.

[GPS]

What methods have you come across other than CBT? I know a lot of people who have done CBT but it seems to have been with mixed success.

Here's a couple of links for you to explore, both from national organisations:
http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk ... lling.html
http://www.itsgoodtotalk.org.uk/what-is ... of-therapy

One interesting type of prep that came up in a couple of interviews I have done for this is mental health, specifically taking steps to ensure a healthy mind as well as body and to perhaps think about how one would react to emergencies or unexpected events.

I think it will be crucial if NHS services are withdrawn even further. Because of my own professional life, I focus more on healing past trauma so that free choices can be made in the present day, rather than being limited by a previous situation - as an abused child, a person caught up in a war or an armed robbery, etc, those are the type of traumas I dealt with in my clients.

Training to react to emergencies and unexpected events is out of my field - a journalist named Amanda Ripley has a book entitled "The unthinkable: who survives when disaster strikes and why", but I've only speed read it seems good though.

Otherwise, that strikes me as being what the military do - train, train and train, so that if it comes to it, your body knows what to do and takes over.

Similarly to physical health it should be an obvious priority as a prep but for whatever reason it did not immediately come to my mind and the individuals I talked to indicated that it was perhaps something that should be talked about more in the forums. You are obviously qualified to deal with people who experience trauma so have an expert-type interest in this area. I am wondering if it is a priority to actively take steps to train/prep the mind for unexpected events and potential trauma (e.g. coming across a car accident) or if this is something that you really can prepare for? I suppose a simpler question is if this is something that is commonly discussed within the community. My search within this particular forum only brought back a small amount of results.

I don't think its commonly discussed - as for training for *us*, then especially in terms of first aid, you'll see people on here being encouraged to go on courses. And people who are eligible through work take as many courses as they're entitled to. But that takes you all the way along to "use it or lose it" - if you get the information, and don't practice, you lose the skills.

As for training the mind to face emergencies and trauma - you can to a certain extent, I suppose - sharing facts about what happens, pictures, knowledge about your own physiological reactions when confronted with certain events. Afterwards, there'd still be a whole lot of PTSD counselling.

So that only takes you so far - thats why army recruits get gassed or half drowned or whatever. If there were ever an apocalyptic type event, though, there wouldn't be any counsellors lined up ready to listen, and everyone would probably be working hard to survive, trauma would be ignored for a while by those healthy enough to do so, or it would incapacitate and then kill those that have been overcome by it (if you "freeze" in front of a sabre toothed tiger, it will kill you, whether or not you're freezing because of past trauma or fear of its teeth). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs comes into play here - air, water, safety, food, shelter, etc. Or read what Katniss needs in the arena in The Hunger Games or Catching Fire (seriously, not kidding there, I'm thinking of a blogpost on Katniss).

The need to train comes up in all sorts of non-emergency areas too, of course - gardening especially.


I confess, I'm making notes for a book but its just a series of notes so far, no research and no overall structure yet.

Yes I understand that the mental health of a person following a disaster is lower down the pecking order than survival, shelter etc. I suppose I was more interested in how people mentally prepare for potential trauma and emergencies and the military example is a good one but from a practical level for most people it seems you can only read up on it. It is hard to put into practice and difficult to predict how someone will react really. You can do all the preparation and read all the books in the world but ultimately you could just freeze when met with an emergency or it could be just a case that certain personalities react better or thrive in times of crisis.I suppose keeping an eye on mental health on a day to day basis is something that we all do to some extent regardless in our different ways whether it is exercise or just talking to someone so this form of prepping is going on unconsciously to a degree (sorry - thinking out loud).

Good luck with the book. You write well so I am sure it will be worth reading.

[jansman]

As interesting as the learned discussion has been,I am looking at the title of this thread.How did you become interested in prepping?

For me it was in the aftermath of a serious industrial accident. The kids were young,wife not doing paid work as she was doing a more important job- looking after our toddlers. Boss refused to pay me and we were on the bare bones of our arses.

Fortunately, I was ( still am) a trade union member.They looked out for me and made sure that ultimately got my just compensation.From a prepping point of view ( and it is NOT a political situation) Union membership is another form of insurance. Workplace insurance.

I vowed then that the family would not sail that close to the wind again.When the compensation came in we paid our mortgage arrears immediately and filled the pantry to bursting! At one point I was even lamping rabbits with my lurchers to put meat on the table and sell them for much needed cash!I needed the rabbits to feed the dogs too. Bear in mind I had one arm in plaster - We were that hard up.

When we got back on track,I got more ( than I already was) into self sufficiency. In came egg laying fowls,meat rabbits and even goats at one point. I took on two allotments as well as my large garden and hunted the crap out of the surrounding countryside.The food we did not have to buy meant money in the bank.I worked stupidly hard,as my goal was to be mortgage - free.That came.

For me,there is no ' bugging out' to the woods,no bunkers,no zombie biker gangs.Just home grown food and meat,free firewood and homebrew!

[Plymtom]

Fortunately, I was ( still am) a trade union member.They looked out for me and made sure that ultimately got my just compensation.From a prepping point of view ( and it is NOT a political situation) Union membership is another form of insurance. Workplace insurance.

Unions are a necessity and got a bad rep around the time of " Carry on at your convenience" and "Citizen Smith" and kept it long after it was fair to tar them that way, most of us now enjoy a better life because of them in much the same way as our freedom was by those fighting for it in WW2. It would be daft to not be in one.