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Prepping/survivalism is not really new thing, it goes for very long time, under the different names maybe, in some regions and times in history it was actually considered as a normal and everyday life. It was there a long time before we started to use those words in today’s meaning.

A lot of people started to be preppers after bad situations they went through, without thinking of it as a movement.

I started to do all prepping activities after I experienced war, a lack of resources, and a system. I considered it common sense, nothing particular as a movement until I stumbled on it.

Prepping as a movement that we know it today has been around for some time, too, and being a prepper is not a new thing. It is just easier to find it because the world has become kind of smaller with all social networks and other communities on the internet.

Inside that movement, I believe every prepper in his times strongly believed a huge event , or SHTF is coming very soon, in his or hers lifetime, events like the 3rd world war or nuclear war with all the horrors that will bring.

It might be because we tend to have smaller or bigger events happening more and more, everything from local political turmoil to wars somewhere. And especially today, those events are closer to us, and we can see them faster, closer, and in more detail because of modern technology.

Whatever bad happens, and whenever it happens, the media brings it to us fast, close, and in detail.

So, is it just the feeling that times are getting worse, or are they worse for real everywhere?

History of ups and downs

Wars happen and have happened before. Also threats of nuclear war happened before, local wars, and horrible economic situations happened before too…so is it same now or we are in much worse times now?

I believe the history of humankind works with its own ups and downs, so we have that curve go up and down.

“Ups” on that curve are dangerous times or times where there is a huge chance for some worldwide event, a very bad worldwide event like a war that might include more nations and bring huge destruction and impact the whole world on some level. “Downs” are times when everything seems calm.

These ups and downs might work similar on your own local level or national level.

So, looks like normal human history with up on the curve that will go down.

The thing is that my impression of ups and downs on the curve is:

  1. Ups and downs are happening both(locally and on world level)
  2. Both ups and downs are higher on the curve
  3. Ups last longer and downs are kind of disappearing

Both things are visible if you step back – or take actually a couple of steps back and look from a kind of distance. In other words unplug for a moment from bombardment of the media and look into the state of your region and state of the world.

You might find out that we tend to take our ups as normal, like the normal function of the world.

Boiling frogs

My favorite story about frogs that will jump if you put them in warm water, but if you put them in cold water, the frog will get cooked— boiled if you gradually heat the water—is here as a good example.

We are all sitting in almost boiling water, but a lot of us are not noticing it.

We are, or most of us are, in a spiral of deteriorating situations in our own regional settings and in worldwide settings, where events are happening faster and faster.

Maybe somebody somehow wants us to think that having more wars worldwide (with the possibility of one melting to nuclear) and worsening situations at home (political, economic, highly polarized, among other reasons) is how the world works today, and all this “happened before” and all this “came down.”

Maybe nobody wants anything, maybe it is simply way that world works today.

One thing is sure: we are already in the heated situation, and we need just one of those events to push us over the cliff to full SHTF.
One of the scenarios how SHTF will happen (and it is one of the very probable scenarios) is we all wake up one day in SHTF and ask ourselves how this happened, at the same time not realizing bad events happened years ago while accepting the being locked down, accepting being labeled in name of freedoms, accepting that horrible wars happen…accepting the fact that it is our normal life is way too much controlled, shushed, pushed and told what is right or wrong or inventing new names for things.

Most of us are frogs in almost boiling water. Some of us are preppers who are paying attention to what is going on, so hopefully, we will jump out of the bowl.

Regional vs. worldwide

Most people usually look for “important events“ in Ukraine, the Middle East, or wherever else far from home, and it is normal to follow news from around the world and react to it. Preppers look and follow news from the world (Ukraine, Middle East, or wherever) and make educated guesses about how those events might impact them LOCALLY.

Now, I am not talking about nuclear war only. It is about how those events might impact the situation at home in economic things like expensive fuel or other things, or more political polarization over support or similar.

So, it is not only about immediate possibility of SHTF, it is about deteriorating of already existing problems at home because world problems.

The impact can be fast and slow. Both need to be recognized.

What about you?

Do you think things are really getting worse? Or do you think it’s just easier to hear about it now with technology? Do you think bad times are coming?

​​Share your thoughts in the comments section.

About Selco:

Selco survived the Balkan war of the 90s in a city under siege, without electricity, running water, or food distribution. 

In his online works, he gives an inside view of the reality of survival under the harshest conditions. He reviews what works and what doesn’t, tells you the hard lessons he learned, and shares how he prepares today.

He never stopped learning about survival and preparedness since the war. Regardless of what happens, chances are you will never experience extreme situations as Selco did. But you have the chance to learn from him and how he faced death for months.

Real survival is not romantic or idealistic. It is brutal, hard, and unfair. Let Selco take you into that world.