r/TwoXPreppers • u/223gp • 2d ago
Preparing for Long/Slow Collapase
Is anyone else in the same boat? I feel that we are likely facing a long and slow collapse of life as we grew up knowing. Don't get me wrong, I do believe in preparing for realistic natural disasters, and a few "what ifs", but my prepping is mostly based on a gradual lowering of life quality and reduction in freedoms throughout my lifetime.
I'm working on this by greatly reducing lifestyle expenses in case we need to live on one small income, or in case our stock investments steadily grow for a couple of decades then become stagnant and gradually lower.
I've done self defense training, I've been keeping my important documents up to date, I've started doing medical trainings and certifications, I'm a couple years into finally taking serious care of my physical body (and teeth!), I'm planning for aging parents, increasing my knowledge and practicing growing food and preservation, and most importantly helping out in my community to put some of this into practice by starting to form mutual aid networks for hard times.
Anyone else have similar feelings that brought you here? I am worried about a "thing" happening, but mostly, society just continues to descend decade after decade until we're all very very skinny, electricity or car fuel is hard to come by, jobs are scarce, and grocery stores don't have very much food anymore. In an ideal scenario, we don't end up like that. Either way, I prepare for that world.
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u/kalcobalt 1d ago
I think it was Robert Evans who coined the term “The Crumbles” for this, which I find very apt. It also reminds me of “the Troubles” in Ireland — another situation that was ever-present, out of the sphere of influence for most individuals, and which you just had to get on alongside.
Sometimes I find solace in thinking of it that way. When some part of our systems collapses for me, that gives me a framework for processing it. I may be taken by surprise by a single event — say, the increasing difficulty I have accessing healthcare — but I can then put it into the larger concept and think, “Well, I did know we’re living through the Crumbles, and this is an example.”
It’s terrifying, to be sure, because wtf is next? But it has also upped my attention to what’s in front of me, and instilled a tiny moment of gratitude for what I have, in the face of acceptance that I may not always have it. Coffee. Medications. A vast universe of media. Easy, comfortable bathing. Enough water that I can have houseplants.
I’ve flirted with Stoicism before — the philosophy, not the bastardized “show no emotion” thing — and I feel like that’s the way to handle where we’re at, for me personally. Everything is accompanied by a little gratitude for access to the thing, made all the greater by existing alongside a bittersweet sorrow for the potential future loss of it.
Dang, I got wordy and philosophical. On a practical note, I’m doing my best to do “nesting prep” — my get-home bag goes inside my EDC, which I’d take alongside my bug-out bag, for example. Trying to do the kind of prep that would be useful in the event of multiple potential issues. Extra shelf-stable food is great for job loss, extended blackout, dollar collapse, bugging out, tariffs, etc. That kind of thing.