Doomsday Preppers: Mental Health and Personality

This video answers the questions: What are Preppers (Doomsday Preppers, Disaster Preppers)? Concerns about the end of the world have been featured in the media for many years (e.g. The Walking Dead, I am legend, World War Z, Armageddon, Deep Impact, The Day After Tomorrow, Oblivion, Zombieland, The Postman, and Mad Max). Many themes have emerged including survival, resisting evil, adaptation, and rebuilding society. Some of those concerned with these themes have started preparing for a collapse of society. I examine possible personality and mental health characteristics associated with these behaviors.

References:

Norah Campbell, Gary Sinclair & Sarah Browne (2019) Preparing for a world
without markets: legitimising strategies of preppers, Journal of Marketing Management, 35:9-10,
798-817, DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.2019.1631875

Disaster Prepper: Health, Identity, and American Survivalist Culture
Kabel, Allison;Chmidling, Catherine
Human Organization; Fall 2014; 73, 3; ProQuest, pg. 258

Raines, A. M., Oglesby, M. E., Allan, N. P., Short, N. A., & Schmidt, N. B. (2016). Understanding DSM-5 Hoarding Disorder: A Triple Vulnerability Model. Psychiatry, 79(2), 120–129.

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[cynthiaschell]

my mother and father grew up in the great depression and my intelligent mother would say, 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'. Their families had learned to can and store and be prepared for hard time because the reality is that anything could happen at any time

[norahbradley]

I’d like to point out that my friend in Puerto Rico went for six months with no power and if she hadn’t had food storage they would have starved.

[marissac]

My husband and I are preppers, not extreme ones, but we have an emergency supply of food and water. We started after Katrina. No movies or TV shows influenced us. We were there and now we want to be prepared just in case. Having a couple months worth of food storage and two guns and ammo makes us feel more secure and in control now. Hopefully we'll never need to use it.

[cellostrings]

Healthy skepticism is a good thing as well as being prepared for possible disasters. But there needs to be a balance.

[norahbradley]

Even if you don’t believe the end is coming keeping a good supply of food is a good idea in case of job loss or other financial disaster.

[cavemanly]

Just because I’m paranoid it doesn’t mean they’re not out to get me!

[marissac]

You're not describing the average prepper. You're talking about the extremists, conspiracy theorists etc. The preppers talking about everything online are known because they're sharing on a public forum. Most preppers keep the fact that they're a prepper private. We don't share or discuss it with anyone.

[kylen]

If you are not at least moderately concerned about the current financial system/economy, I would submit you haven't really studied history or basic economics... lots of mainstream "non-prepper" types have been sounding serious alarms in this regard for a decade. No conspiracy needed for that. On another personal side note, a mild tornado hit my city of one million ppl last year... the power went out for about 65% of the city for 36 hours. It was rather eye opening to see the total disorder, panic, and fear setting in over simply no power for just over a day. I can only imagine what happens when that goes on for a wk. No conspiracy needed for that either. I have done the bare bones basic "prepping stuff". I wouldn't make it the central focus of my life or really think about it much. Just my 2 cents.

[infbatt]

My wake up call was from my role as a medic, I have seen some horrible shit and how cruel and barbaric humans can be as well as being stuck in the middle of a riot and seeing how quick things can go to shit, a lot of Preppers are frontline workers, police, military, firemen etc..just being a father I don’t want to see my kids want for anything, there is probably a PTSD component, I prep as a form of insurance that hopefully I won’t need. I’m learning practical skills, I’m not sitting on MREs and a stockpile of guns, my preps go hand in hand with my day to day life, I’m just trying to make myself a bit more self sustainable, I’m doing what my grandfather did, I provide for my family and prepare for hard times, man has been doing it since time and memorial but now it’s seen as a mental illness.

[pamelaconley]

I am a Preper but I don't do all the goofy stuff. My thought is that I want to be prepared in case of an emergency. On that thought, I am preparing to "bug out" or "bug in." I have a supply of water and medication, specific survival gear such as a fire starter kit, emergency food, clothing, solar power cell to charge phones etc. My main concern is to be prepared for Earthquakes, weather incidents or the possibility of Yellowstone volcano popping off which is a possibility. I keep my car filled with gas, have emergency supplies in the car such as sleeping bag, first aid kit and items needed for my car. I have a place to go and several ways to get there depending on the type of emergency. I will have supplies for bugging in if I decide to stay in my home. To me, it is just a safety plan in place in case it is needed. I am completely normal, am not a horder, have a part time job (I am retired) and I am able to take care of myself and my disabled son if I need to. In fact, they had to shut the water off in our building for 2 days. Since I had stored water, I was good! BTW The Postman was an awesome movie!

[beatricebrown]

Considering how ineffective certain emergency services have been in response to disasters, being prepared is not foolhardy. Considering how tentative jobs and the economy is, having a "back up" plan (gardens, chickens, etc.) is also not a foolhardy idea. Certainly, having confidence in being able to take care of yourself in an emergency is being smart. I think that a healthy approach is to be prepared but don't go overboard. Great video--as always.

[AnnabelleAstoria]

I was frightened by the hyperinflation that I witnessed in Venezuela and when I come across sale items of cleaning products or personal hygiene products I buy extra to stack away. Guilty . I suffer depression and am pessimistic by nature. I do not trust banks or the health of the world’s financial future.

[davidthomspson]

"Those who beat their swords into plows will plow for those who don't" My mom grew up in the aftermath of the Spanish civil war we always kept extra food and water around.You should always prepare for civil unrest it happens anywhere.It can be carried to a nutty level however if paranoia creeps in.

[yoclark]

Watching this during a pandemic and worldwide rioting and destruction.

[fmoys]

I think prepping is a good idea as long as it doesn’t eat into your day to day responsibilities or become obsessive.

[quentindaniels]

What I find amusing is that so many of the people that mocked “preppers”, are the same ones that have no idea what is important for survival, and instead of getting food, they get toilet paper.

FYI, you won’t need toilet paper if you’re not eating.

Road Warrior FTW!

[GungaLaGunga]

My favorite prepper of all time: Burt Gummer in the movie Tremors. And that scene when he imagines his heroic demise, and Reba Macintire character responds: "Good lord honey!" So good. lol

[Zei]

One of the smartest people I’ve ever met, a doctor I worked for, was a massive prepped. He had the money to make it happen too. He was afraid of a disease going out of control one day.

[TFrills]

I'm 23. Grew up and live in Northern CA. After 2 disastrous fires in the last 3 years that threatened our home and cities, and now with the Wuhan Virus, I'm starting to feel myself becoming a prepper.

Out of everyone I know, I was the most prepared for the second fire. I had kits ready for all my family and we were ready to go in minutes after the evacuation order was set. We had everything we needed to spend the next week without electricity at my uncle's house in town.

I actually can understand the "I'll show you!" mentality. I can relate to that. That's how I would feel if I was truly prepared for an apocalypse. But unfortunately, I'm not prepared for anything other than a fire, and it leaves me feeling incredibly vulnerable and full of anxiety.

[annmurry]

I think prepping is on a spectrum from responsible/competent to dangerous.

The government actually recommends having several weeks of supplies prepped and generally having a few months of expenses saved up for is widely recommended.

Some things are more likely than others. I admit to prepping for short term/ temporary situations. Here's why:

*I grew up in a cabin over summers that regularly had power outages and had a well that at times didn't pass water tests.
*I volunteered in the Katrina relief effort.
*I have had the water shut off for building-wide repairs at least a dozen times in the last year.
*Last spring / summer I had bank access issues at least half a dozen times.
*Temporary brown outs are not unusual where I live out west.
*If no medication is on hand, a person living alone can get in the bind of symptoms preventing or delaying access to health services.
*Having non-perishables on hand avoids getting in a position of braving a storm or other temporary situation after running out.
*I lived in Milwaukee when they were having riots that interfered with traffick and commerce temporarily.

Things can and do happen. Depending on where you live different things are more or less rational. Doing nothing may actually be ignorant, incompetent, or irresponsible. Everything should have a boundary or limit. Stockpiling should have a limit and cans etc. should be organized by dates and cycled.

Preparing for temporary things that do and have happened in the past is totally reasonable. How can people even truly prepare for "the end" though (outside of personal / religious matters)?

And of course the government should be trusted without question (including all branches all the time like the IRS in 2014/15).. Just ask an Indian.

Of course it can go too far. It is certainly possible to do within the limits of the law and yeah, when used as an excuse to skirt outside the law, like anything else, becomes questionable. It should also have limits and boundaries ...
... like anything else ...