I have seen at least one thread similar to this and they had the same worries about not living our life and just sitting around waiting for the SHTF.

I agree most people should not over do it. To most survivalists this is just a hobby.
BUT to some of us, especially if we have been survivalists for years, myself since 1982, then this is more than just a hobby it is my Life and lifestyle.

I am Not living my life waiting for something bad to happen but I am Ready for whatever will happen.

And proof of that is shown in my 3 pic threads, the last one is here >
http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=84562

Also where are you in CO Skyjump. You can message me and tell if you don't want everyone to know. I am in Greeley, Coloradica right now but hope to move to Wyoming someday soon.

 

Great post, and I think the commonly used expression to describe what you're feeling is Survival Burnout.

I have also reached a point where I feel infinately more prepared than the sheeple, but still way less prepared than the guys with the 100 acre survival retreats in remote locations, off grid power, main battle tank, and more gold than fort knox.

It's just not realistic for most of us to have all of those preps without becoming a full time devotee to the altar of preparedness, and the pursuit of the impossible is very likely to induce feelings of insecurity, depression and paranoia (remind you of anyone).

Therefore I've started to give myself the occasional sheeple day, where I pretend everythings fine, the economy is booming, , Beer is free, and Politics is something for other people to worry about....

Being Sheeple is fantastic... like being a child again. Go to watch a movie about anything other than the end of the world, get drunk and talk about football and girls, buy something pointless just because it looks cool... (but don't get too carried away).

It's like a vacation for the soul.... and when you get back on the Wagon, it will all make sense again.... Or maybee not.

 

Great post, and I think the commonly used expression to describe what you're feeling is Survival Burnout.

I have also reached a point where I feel infinately more prepared than the sheeple, but still way less prepared than the guys with the 100 acre survival retreats in remote locations, off grid power, main battle tank, and more gold than fort knox.

Wow, I would like to see who has all of that. I used to have a little gold but now just have a small but well stocked survival retreat. - said MM Mike

It's just not realistic for most of us to have all of those preps without becoming a full time devotee to the altar of preparedness, and the pursuit of the impossible is very likely to induce feelings of insecurity, depression and paranoia (remind you of anyone).

Does not remind me of anyone, who are you thinking of??

Therefore I've started to give myself the occasional sheeple day, where I pretend everythings fine, the economy is booming, , Beer is free, and Politics is something for other people to worry about....

Being Sheeple is fantastic... like being a child again. Go to watch a movie about anything other than the end of the world, get drunk and talk about football and girls, buy something pointless just because it looks cool... (but don't get too carried away).

I have done some of that and some survivalists do that every weekend or more often even. I watch some movies if they are good. I did Not go see the movie 2012 though. I would go see "The Hobbit" as an escapist movie and not as a survivalist movie. I would Never call myself a sheeple though.

My words are in green above ^

 

This is very good advice.
There was a similar discussion on this a while back
and everyone pretty much agreed....don't forget to
live your life.

With that said...it is still a tough balancing act.
Every day is still a prep day for me....regardless!
I chose to accept it, (as many here have done)
as a way of life. It doesn't mean you neglect
everything else.

I suspect every one of us on these boards, from time to time,
question the expense, time, and effort that proper prepping
requires. This soon passes and you get back on it.

Your concern is normal and more importantly, recognized and
accepted by most of us on these boards.

Hang in there...and keep preppin':thumb:

Good Luck Brother!

Doginit

 

I can think of no situation that is truly enhanced or benefited by extremism. If you are finding yourself obsessing over preparing with no eminent danger in the offing, I would venture that it would be a save bet that individual goes over board in other areas of life, too. I seek to achieve a balance point in my life. I wave at it as I swing past it several times a day.

 

I'm not an extremist...I'm a perfectionist. The line between the two are probably blurred at times though. :thumb:

 

Hmmm... Maybee you do need to lighten up a bit... My comments were intended to be lighthearted and not taken literally.

 

In general? ... or just those on that post? ... or just those on this thread?

I guess I'm glad that the noise is limited to 11 posts so far.

 

Wow, lots of good thoughts guys. I haven't reached paranoia...I think that's what I'm trying to avoid. Whoever mentioned "burnout" is probably right on. At first this was kind of just fun like getting ready for a big camping trip. As you come to understand the enormity of the situation however it can all become a little overwhelming.

Good thoughts though...keep em coming.

 

At first this was kind of just fun like getting ready for a big camping trip. As you come to understand the enormity of the situation however it can all become a little overwhelming.

Good thoughts though...keep em coming.

If that is what it takes to get most people to prepare then people should make a game of it. I do act a lot of times like I am getting ready for a big camping trip since that is a great deal of what I do. Especially when I go on my biggest "camping" trip from June to Nov. every year for the last ten years up to my mtn place. I have the most fun and feel the most free when I am living as a survivalist on my bol/vacation area/ retreat. I enjoy the woods, wildlife etc.

The more prepared one is the less overwhelming it is and the less overwhelmed some of us will be if/when the SHTF.

 

I agree there has been many times when I have asked myself if I wasn't just going a bit overboard but then I just turn on the tv and watch the news and within seconds I'm feeling better about the lifestyle choice I have made. Do I go to the extreme and distance myself to society? In some instances I would have to say yes I no longer go to malls but I do not seperate myself to the point of becomming a hermit. We still go to the races, movies, family functions, picnics with friends, hiking and I generally for the most part still enjoy meating new people now I am just more aware of my surroundings and more aware of people in general. I agree with you in that life is too precious to just sit around waiting for the end to come because if you give up on living so you can prep you might just wake up and find your end already came while you were waiting for it to do so.

 

Sometimes I am accused by others that I am not enjoying my life and family enough by my passion with preparedness. I don't understand the charge though. I spend each evening home with my wife and children. (Ages 1 & 2.) We have supper together, play in the floor, etc. My preparedness does not get in the way of my family time.

I spent the Thanksgiving holiday with my wife and her family. We had some interesting discussions about gov't policies, economic disaster, etc. Everyone seems to be on board (however none of them prep), but my MIL got a little upset with me and said "When is this supposed to happen? You've been talking about this as long as I've known you!" (And exaggeration.) As she stormed out of the room, I told her that she could starve, and not to show up at my door. (With a few choice words thrown in.)

My wife and I feel that what we are doing in the way of preps is justified and sometimes we feel that we aren't doing enough. I guess that is one of the pitfalls of the mindset. No matter what your current levels of supplies are, it never seems like enough.

I did send an email to my MIL an apologetic email about the blow-up. Here's an excerpt of her reply back.

I don't know exactly why the whole preparedness thing upsets me so much. I guess I don't want my grandchildren to have to deal with all this. I know you are passionate about it, but I still want to hope you are wrong. Between moving and being away from [her husband] during these times with his mom and all the stuff with my mom's estate, and the scary births of my grandchildren, and other stuff over the past 2 1/2 years, I'm not sure I can cope with another crisis. It's all very overwhelming and I can usually handle most anything thrown at me, but I'm having a hard time dealing with all the issues in the world, too.

I guess it worries me that you put so much effort into this preparedness and I want you to be able to enjoy your family. These are precious times with those babies and I know from experience, you can't get back the years when you can see the "new" in their eyes everyday. You are so blessed and I want you to be able to find a balance to enjoy this.

Of course ignoring what is going on with the world will not make it go away...

And here's my response to her. (Still haven't heard back.)

I pray to God that all of the preparations are NEVER needed. I guess I just see it more as an insurance plan. If we were to lose our jobs, we wouldn't have to worry about going hungry for many months.

I know [my wife] sometimes gets tired of me talking about possible food shortages in the country or how the gov't is trying to control some other aspect of our lives. Sometimes I get overwhelmed thinking about it all too. It's not easy to consciously think of all the mistakes that are being made around the country that are going to come back and bite us.

This is the first time in the history of the world that the majority of people don't know how to produce food or make things for themselves. All of the information about food production/preservation that had been passed from parent to child for countless generations has almost been lost. It seems that most Americans are very apathetic about what is going on in the world. They think food just appears on the shelf at the store, and that it will always be there. And that nothing bad can happen to us "because this is America."

I've read enough in history to know that the path our country is on is unsustainable. There will come a time when the economy will contract, the money bubble will pop, food prices will skyrocket, etc. I don't know when this will be, but I will be prepared for it. It is my responsibility to see that my wife and children are provided for.

So many people live paycheck to paycheck, and end up homeless in hard times. If we can afford to put a little food or medicine or clothes in the closet for hard times, why not do it? And even if the skills that I have learned are never needed in my lifetime for our survival, it is possible that my children or grandchildren may have to rely on that knowledge. I'm going to make sure that the know-how of my grandparents is passed down and is not lost.

Right now, we have around a 9-month supply of food. For four people. Many of the things will store for 25 to 30 years. Other things need to be eaten within 12 or so years. I look at it as just having a large pantry. We use things from storage that are older and then replace them with newer stock. Our goal is to have a one-year supply of things to get us through.

I know there are people who are "asleep" as to what is going on around the world, and that these people will find themselves ill-prepared if some crisis does come our way. They will cheat, rob, and even kill in order to survive. I don't want to be that person. However, I will defend what is mine.

I have no idea when or if something will occur that will require us to live off our preps, but they are there just in case. I've tried to convince others to build up a little stockpile in a closet for ice storms, power outages, etc. And to my knowledge, no one has taken me seriously, and it is likely they will come to me for help in the "long emergency."

While others around us are buying flat screen TVs and the newest electronic gadgets, we are turning our cash into tangible goods. We are not hurting for anything. We don't lack for anything we need. But we have made the conscious decision to cut back on our frivolous spending and put the money spent in the past on netflix, restaurants, etc. towards our insurance plan.

Though I would never turn a family member away from our door, I am going to be a little ****ed off when I've had the foresight to see what is headed our way, and did something about it to make sure my family was provided for, and everyone else cared more about having the newest iPod, blackberry, etc.

I do not think that my preparedness mindset takes away from the enjoyment of my family. It is amazing how quickly the children are growing up. The steps [my wife] and I have taken will insure that they continue to grow and will mature into responsible citizens who know how to take care of themselves and think for themselves and not rely on anyone else.

I don't know when it will come, but I know there is a storm coming.

The SHTF mindset does take over your brain if you let it. You're always thinking about what your lacking in preps and looking for the best places to find said items. It's a totally different way of looking at the world, but I will never go back to living like sheeple.

 

I go through rounds of prepper burnout and have for years. It's hard to balance life and prepping sometimes. I don't know how many times I've went through "if only I hadn't spent money on such and such, I'd be closer to [insert goal]". Yet if prepping is all I had done, I would have crumbled by now. To me, prepping isn't a hobby, because I don't find it enjoyable in the least. It's just an important part of life that I accept and deal with. Yeah, there are many times I wish I could have spent the money travelling, or spent it on something I wanted, some new toy or whatever.

It seems that the more we focus on what could happen, the worse the burnout gets. I learned long ago to not play the scenario game anymore. I figure there have been people screaming "the end is near" forever and they were all wrong. What makes me think I'll finally be the one who's right. If I'm going to be wrong too, then there's no benefit to it. It's easier to just prep for "whatever" and go on with life. Keeping an eye out, of course.

Whenever I get burned out, I tend to step back and look at what I've already achieved instead of stressing over what I haven't. Maybe take some time off and go do something else for a while to rest the mind.

 

I try to keep enjoying life but at a lower price-point so I can still save money for preps!

it's easy to get too focused on prepping. I'm trying to enjoy life with two goals (other than prepping) in mind. Health and relationships. So I'll spend money on books to read in the little 'book club' I've started with my daughters, or on coffee during a 'girls night out'. I'll also gladly spend money on vitamins, good food, ninjitsu class and other things that support my health. I figure these areas help enjoy life now AND promote things (like a healthy body & a network of friends/family) that will support me in a SHTF scenario.

Basically I try to prep in areas that also serve me now, and enjoy the now in a way that also helps with preps.

 

Great thread. I struggle with this as well - do I buy an AR or put 2-grand toward my son's college fund? Save to buy some land or pay down the mortgage? More prepping or a better Christmas gift for my wife?

I'm very impressed with everyone here that has all of this under control. It's proving much more difficult for me that I had imagined.

 

I gave up living over a year ago, all I think about every waking moment is prepping. It consumes me.

 

Try to get some enjoyment outta life Brother.

 

as in the other thread about this i told them that you have to find a balance in there somewhere..it means takeing a step back here and there and foucusing your time on something else..

my step away time from the prepping ..is air rifle shooting it lets me mentaly drop every thing in the world and only focus on that ..or another one is going to the movies and other things..but do not get so wraped up into what you are doing that you lose focus on the family and all you think about is prepping

 

The idea of preparation is inherently negative. It is unavoidable. Whether it be a hurricane, earthquake, economic collapse, or thermonuclear war, the events for which we are preparing are negative events.

To prepare for any future event you must focus on it. You must think about what repercussions it will cause and try to anticipate how they will affect you. Imagining yourself in a negative situation has very real, measurable physiological consequences. The simple act of thinking about something negative causes chemical changes in your body that, over time, can take a toll on both your physical and mental wellbeing.

The times I feel most on edge are when I take the broad view. Questions like, "What would I do if there was a catastrophic earthquake," create a lot of stress for me. My mind begins spinning through all of the if-then possibilities. Focusing closely on the details, on the other hand, can be enjoyable and fun. I found that if I look at the big picture just long enough to create an actionable to-do list then focus in on the details of accomplishing the items on that list I feel more positive about the whole experience.

 

I think it just depends on at least to me on what you finding enjoyable and relaxing. For me a trip to the mall is for the most part torture I don't enjoy fighting through the crowds to get where I'm going. I don't enjoy eating in a crowded eating area with a bunch of strangers. I do enjoy sitting in my home or at a lake fishing or just sitting enjoying a book under the trees. I enjoy swimming with the grandkids roller skating walking and hiking. Sewing a rip in a sleeping bag while listening to music.
I guess all the things envolved with prepping are entertaining for me for the most part. Luckily the rest of my family feels the same way.

You just can beat the taste of homemade bread compared store bought. I guess if I had to live what some consider a normal lifestyle I'd be miserable.

 

Thank you!

 

For me it is tring to get the place as self reliance as possible because I don't plan to leave. I have stuff in case I need to leave but it would take a real disaster to make that happen. I collect as I go along but never go out of my way in a panic to do so. Been collecting ammo & guns for 25 plus years. We are allways tring to put away extra food but it is the type we eat normaly. We have a comercial bakery at home so most of the time we have around 500-1000+ lbs of assorted flours, seeds, bread making things etc in the pantry. We have 3 large comercial convection ovens that we can dry stuff with or bake with. We bake our own bread and cookies etc along with raising our own meat. My daughter tannery has 500-1200 lbs of salt on hand plus all the tools to butcher with. So we realy are set up for a disaster or just taking care of ourselves like we have done since I can remember. I have a large 50X80 garden plot all ready to use if needed but time is the problem for us so it just waits for that day we may need it again. Mark

Around 30 years ago I had a few freinds who were getting ready for a bug out. They were totaly into it big time! I had not seen them in many years and when I did I asked them are you still prepaired? They said naw it got old doing it so they quit. There problem was it was a absession instead of just a way of life.

 

I have the same thoughts, why waste money on holidays, movies and shopped for some branded bags etc. where I could spend the funds on preparations - more food and water, more survival gears, climbing equipments, weapons, BOV, BOB etc. It have become a hobby, a joy and something I really loved to do - getting prepared. ......but.......

We all work (at least most of us) for money, and to live a life. We got to strike a well balanced lifestyle. What is immediate is to work, live happily with our family and loved ones, have a comfortable life. Saved up so money, and spend some on preparations, but don't over do it. Preparations are for the unforeseen circumstances, which we will never know when, where and why its coming. But what we are going to experience and live through is our daily affairs which is more immediate and foreseeable, so don't overdo the preparations.

For example, you can buy lots and lots of guns and ammo, well if you are a Collector, then I got not comments. But if you are doing it for preparations, then I would say you may be overdoing it. You may not need all 10 or 20 guns! Maybe a semi-auto rifle, a pistol and a shotgun may well do the job (for a single person), and with sufficient (again, up to individual to determine what is sufficient) ammo. Frankly in a hostile combat situation, you won't have the ability to carry a rifle, pistol and shotgun together with so much gears and ammo if you are on foot (maybe your BOV got blown away).

So, don't over do and don't over panic, just have a well balanced lifestyle. Just my personal view.

 

I think prepping happens to be fun and satisfying. The idea behind preps is so that you will NOT have to worry about what's coming.
I don't care for many of the frivolous activities that others do, and I never have, so it's nothing I have to "give up". I'm not depriving myself of something I'd rather do, because this is what I'd rather do. I do go out to eat once in awhile when my sister and BIL come down or whenever else I feel like it, I buy what I want, within reason, but most of what I want also doubles as a prep item. I would like to own land just because I would like the lifestyle of more self-sufficiency. I learn new skills that I also enjoy, like wild plant food foraging, for instance. These things all are very satisfying to me. I do not believe in putting off living in order to do something else instead, and I don't.

 

Thought of another point....

While the underlying reason survivalists do what they do is negative (prep for disaster), many of the actions survivalists take to prepare are just plain common sense.

I've been trying to work certain aspects of "preparation" into our everyday life for two reasons.... to prepare for disaster and because it is a good thing to do even if we were not preparing for anything.

For instance, we eat lots of oatmeal. Reading some of the food prep calculation information in this forum I realized it would be doable for us to purchase 50lb bags of oatmeal and rotate our stock as we eat it.

Not really earth shattering... but it was just good common sense... no EMP needed as motivation.

 

Thought of another point....
many of the actions survivalists take to prepare are just plain common sense.

I've been trying to work certain aspects of "preparation" into our everyday life for two reasons.... to prepare for disaster and because it is a good thing to do even if we were not preparing for anything.

There is much that I could quote and respond to but about survivalists preparing because it is just common sense is one of the best reasons and what I try to do.

People who lived in the past much of the time, did always live a survivalist lifestyle such as those who endured and adapted ways to survive the Great Depression for instance. Even when times got better and some of them had more than enough money they were still tight and constantly thought of ways to prepare and be thrifty. I have seen many examples of this from some friends and old relatives.

Again I probably am not expressing myself the way I would like but I just want to say that I prep quite a bit but I still Live life, much of the time I don't even think about it for I have been doing it for so many years that survival, prepping etc. is simply second nature and part of who I have become.

I don't think I am worried or paranoid about anything or even overly serious for I am living the way I need and wish to Live and hope that everyone else will be able to also. :thumb:

 

If it didnt make my current life better life would be alot harder. I am in rural western NY and surprisingly have a large number of outages for power. Tried the generator path, but watching the fuel consumption I realized I would last very long. Further, the lesson of Katrina was dont give a constant noise for others to follow. All my preparation center around replacing the need for power. Garden food and fruit from your own trees is just flat out better than what comes from the store. I think we should concentrate on farming more and guns less since farming covers a whole range of scenarios and the guns only are for the worst of all situations. I covered in another post that there are twice as many gun posts as there are in the gardening section. Wish that was reversed.

 

I'm with you there. I think there's far too much emphasis put on having power in a long term crisis. An ice storm or short term crisis for convenience, sure. But long term it's easier and cheaper to just plan around it. It took me years to arrive at that same conclusion.

 

I didn’t know I had a problem.

My day started out with going to my 40' x 60' shop to fire up the wood furnace (Earth Log Furnace) but thinking, should I just turn up the natural gas heater to save the wood for what if.
Then feeding my chickens and gathering eggs, the feed bag was low but it was going on day 13 on that 50# bag, so I grabbed another bag from my eight month supply in the shop to resupply the feed container.

Went back in the shop, threw some more wood in the furnace and started running dirt from a five gallon bucket through my gold sluice. I only have a quarter ounce so far, but I have been doing this off and on for about six months now. Whatever I find will be for bartering, as is the 182 ounces of silver I have.

Before lunch I did some cardio-excersize, getting back into the routine because I have been slacking off lately. I am getting older and when TSHTF I don’t want to be out of shape. UPS came around just before noon to deliver my order from Sportsmans Guide, 2,000 rounds of 9mm ammo, SWEET !

I ate lunch, then brought more firewood into the house for my two woodstoves and brought more wood into the shop. I determined by that time I would just burn the wood, I can get more from a guy down the road for less than $100 a cord. I inspected the 9mm ammo, very good stuff, I recommend Sportsmans Guide if you are looking for great ammo deals.

Went in the house to watch Glenn Beck on FOX news, but when I turned on the DVR / receiver, CSI was on so I watched about four episodes in a row. It was getting dark by then so I went back out to feed the chickens their evening meal. Came back in the house to search online stores for night vision goggles, checked several sites before logging on to this site to see what everyone was chatting about.

So you tell me, no problem right ? I did watch four episodes of CSI. I usually only watch FOX news, Military Channel, or The History Channel. I had the DVR record Glenn Beck, so I can watch it anytime.

 

be prepared doesnt mean prepared to be.

 

My thoughts on prepping are kinda skewed as I didn't just one day find some website and start maxing cards out on tacticool stuff and dumping it in my basement. Survivalism, as I see it, can become an extreme obscession.

I was an Eagle Scout and my years with that wonderful organization gave me so many skills at such a young age that many adults my own age would consider frivolous this day and age. I still follow the "be prepared" motto.

Two questions one must ask themselves are. What am I preparing for(which is another thread) and just how much money/time can you invest in it. I prepare for just a generals state of readiness... Inclement weather, power outage, so forth. And my prepping is more or less a hobby as far as the time it takes. I enjoy what I'm doing. It's not a second or third job. And it's not my primary money pit. Do what you think is necessary and to the best of your ability as you can. If something happens you can be prepared for it and still come out on bottom.

 

I was an Eagle Scout ...

Was? What happened to your rank?

 

I think it's easy to go hardcore when you are just starting out. You see all this stuff you need and really how unprepared you are. So every time you get something it's a big deal. I imagine it's not the same for the survival vets, just one more thing for the stock piles, But when your new and have next to nothing It's what's a better gun, can I get this on sale? Can I go cheap on this item? And next thing you know you have been talking survival non stop for a few weeks. Nothing wrong with survival, but there are other things in life. So I'm gona chill out a bit, let my buddies do some of the worrying for a change.

 

Thanks for this post Skyjump. I totally understand where you're coming from with this. Another person on this site said that they are going about their preps as a part of their natural life. They are homesteading, not prepping. I took that to heart and it's helped to change my outlook quite a bit.

I was feeling just as you described in your post and it was so depressing. What's the point of prepping if you become so focused that you don't see the point of it all, which is to live!

I am still rather cynical about the world, but I do my best to ignore it these days and only touch base once in a while. For the most part I stay in a bubble and concentrate on the joy my family and animals provide. These are my reasons for prepping to begin with.

:thumb: Be safe all.