Any long term Preppers actually in shock something is happening?

[MsMeNz]

I have been a prepper since I was a teen, too many end of world novels I think 😬😁 so I've where ever possible kept 2-3 months of stuff and have bug out bags, get anxious if I run out of batteries etc.
But no so far as many hard core people go.

But even though I have always been prepared-ish I actually find myself in awe and a little freaked out it's actually now needed. Anyway one else feel like that? Like you prepped for years but now something is really here it's all a bit surreal? Or am I the only one? 🙄😁

I’m not a survivalist prepper so not face masks etc but I am a household essentials stocker so I always run with probably a month’s worth of loo roll, toiletries and non-perishable at a bare minimum. Stacked it up for Brexit and got roundly mocked by everyone except one friend, who is now sharing in the half delight, half horror at actually being right. I texted him when I put in my top-up prepper shop order in February and he was doing his at the same time! Now we’re being asked by people this week whether they should buy more stuff. Yeah, you should have done it when we did it, but you were too busy laughing at us.

Honestly though it actually feels horrible. Because part of the impetus for doing it in the first place is fear. And to see a fear come to pass is just not fun at all. I kind of liked being way over prepared. I don’t like to feel like I actually need it.

I’m not quite a prepper but always been very organised and think ahead about stocks etc. Have always had food and meds and cash etc in some nameless ‘just in case’ manner. Was brought up as full-on rough camper by very self sufficient parents - think it rubbed off !
Brexit ramped this up a bit.
I am astounded that I am feeling relieved that I have sufficient for self isolation and some more remote scenario things - water purification things, solar powered torch/radio, face masks and meds etc.
Strange times.

Brexit threads here made me think hard about where my food comes from - so for the first time I prepped. Everyone I knew laughed at me.

They don’t seem to be laughing any more.

And my full freezer makes me feel calmer though like others, I don’t want to dip into my supplies too much, too soon.

Thank you to all the wise people who advised that it was wise to have food stored. It certainly means I don’t have to panic buy.

Yes, I'm feeling a bit numb, tbh.
Glad I'm well prepared, but really sad and worried that my preps are going to be needed, if you know what I mean.

I'm lucky in that we live on a farm and I can self isolate and avoid seeing people relatively easily.

I was going to come on here and ask same question, ive been following these boards since the coronavirus in china and i ended up getting more calpol but wasnt organised enough to get food, it must be weird actually having to use it, and people who laughed before must not be now, im interested to know what family and friends thought before and what their reaction is now

My family took the piss. They are now stocking up on tinned stuff

Honestly though it actually feels horrible. Because part of the impetus for doing it in the first place is fear. And to see a fear come to pass is just not fun at all

Oh my gosh, yes. This. So much.
I really didn't want this to be required and was looking forward to reduced food bills and feeling a bit daft for a while as I supplemented my regular food with my stash when it turned out to not be required. I didn't want this eventuality to happen at all.

I was a prepper without knowing it! Just always felt right to have a stash of bleach, wipes, toothpaste, deodorant, toilet roll, tins, frozen etc. It's meant I've just needed a slight top-up rather than a panic buy.

I am a long term low level prepper as luckily is dh. He preps in belief of a probable financial crisis I've always prepped because of over population and the inevitable pandemic.
This isn't it imo its a dry run. Prepping is good but hopefully more people will start to hit a deeper tier : more sustainable living, growing your own where possible, less flying less waste, back to local shops and seasonal food.

I'm not a proper prepper but after reading on here about having a Brexit cupboard I started adding more to my weekly shop. I'm now so relieved I have extra medication, loo rolls, dog food and canned goods to last a while. I just wish I'd started earlier and had more but I feel in a much better position than I would have been a few months ago.

Feels totally surreal. I'm in shock tbh that the thing I've always feared is finally here.

Took the family on a family sustainability weekend last year with a foraging course and other bits. So at least now they know you can eat clover and dandelions! When we did the foraging bit, I was joking about prepping for the zombie apocalypse, little did I know!

I've always prepped, 5day power cut in the 80s storms, village was totally cut off because of the amount of trees that were down, then being in the Ukraine and Russia in the early 90s and seeing things breakdown so quickly, I've always been aware that it doesn't take much. Plus a lifetime addiction to apocalypse novels!

DH has always humoured me, he sort of got it, but thought I was over reacting or over egging it, now he's thanked me several times over the last few days.

Now I've moved on to trying to prepare the DC's emotionally. They are both very social (unlike me!) and are possibly going to need lots of nurturing to make it through this well. Face time is going to save them I think, but we are going to have to ration the internet as both DH and I work from home.

I was coming to make similar thread, about long term future prepping.

It feels frightening and unreal that its actually now happening. I never wanted to a situation to come to fruition. It's like car insurance you have it incase of a crash but you always hope you never need to use it.

I'm looking at supplies and now trying to plan ahead, what to ration when.

I've always been a prepper, and have always looked and try to be ready for something like a 70s 3 day a week or WW2(British experience of WW2) situation with products/ food/ energy/ materials all in short supply. in theory I have a plan but I've been lax in practice.

Now I'm planning to put into practice longer term preps. planting a proper veg plot, get out all the books on forage foods and recipes and kitchen garden books. also planting up a medicinal herb garden. (I use to have one many house moves ago) find and dust of the herbal medicine books.

looking at getting some muslin cloths in, so useful for many things.

But for the next couple of days I'm going to be distracting myself with films and work.

Its here now, at this point there is nothing else I can do. I just need to climb down a notch and turn the news off, otherwise I will be swept away in the panic going on around us.

for everyone.

I have just seen a question about potential utility difficulties (don’t think there will be) and I remembered my water purification tabs and solar radio thing both bought during one of our repeated brexit worry periods (which continue I keep forgetting). Crazy!

I'm in the strange situation of everyone around me being off or able to WFH - but my ability to WFH is finishing on Friday and I had to come into the office today. I will WFH tomorrow, but need to return the device on Friday, and then relocate to a different building on Monday so... who knows...

But we are using up fresh foods, I had 2 online shops set up for tomorrow and next week so we should still be ok to get restocked (just as well as no slots available now, and they are not yet releasing any for following weeks). DH is happy that I was relatively well prepared, but I am still reeling TBH. And DD is finding enforced isolation quite difficult - we had a number of walks in quiet spaces over the weekend and DH took her on a bike ride yesterday as well, but she is actually finding the need to stick to a school timetable really useful - some teachers have set work to do and submit electronically, while others have managed to set up online classrooms to still actively teach, and DD is doing study in the other subjects at the moment. If any of your DC are out of school, it may be useful to suggest keeping to their daily timetable of subjects even if it is self-organised study and reading rather than doing work set by teachers.

I also need to go down to the storage unit and get rid of some cluttering items from the house, but more as a reason to get out some more of my camping gear (the cooking stuff etc) to bring home to be able to manage if there are further issues and a collapse of general utilities due to lack of staff.

YES!! I have been telling everyone for years that there would be a pandemic, and making plans (didn't start the actual prepping till a few months ago, but always been ready for the eventuality)

But now I feel horribly empty. I can't believe it is actually happening, despite all my predictions. Sitting at home today, grateful for all my food and medical supplies, but crying for my daughter who has just found out the exams she has been working so hard for have been cancelled. I feel bereft of normality. I don't want to have to use my stores, or put my more drastic plans in place. I still have to work, so can't even retreat, and can't believe how people seem to be so unaware of how majorly life is going to change in the next few months. It's all playing out just as I always saw it, down to the panic buying and denial. My poor children having to live through this. I am so sad right now

Yes! I started becoming a prepper after Brexit and since then it's moved on to more sustainable ways of living and trying to be as zero-waste as possible and I've found learning new things that are actually proving now very useful fun and life-enhancing.

Now there's actually cause to start using the stash it's astonishing to see how people are behaving but hopefully the outcome of all this is that people will indeed value the earth's resources more and not be so wasteful.

I've never really though of myself as a prepper, just as being organised. However, after seeing the shenanigans of the last week or so, I may have to accept this new identity. It was particularly nice to be able to pass on a bottle of hand sanitiser to a friend of DH's going through chemo who was worrying about the panic buying.

Another one here very grateful to the MN Preppers... I've been lurking and listening for months and started prepping well in advance of the first Brexit deadline. It is a comfort now, not to mention not having to use shops or compete with other poor people in the midst of panic buying.

We started with brexit prep in august last year.

This actually feels terrifying and I still feel like I haven't done enough for my young sisters.

It’s amazing to see ‘conversions’ during brexit prep o mentioned to my sister that perhaps she should get some stuff in. Bloody hell ! Little by little bit by bit she’s only gone and done it. Recent convo revealed she had months worth of eg cat litter cat food loo roll toiletries tins etc. I was astonished. She’s an absolute convert and did it properly - no panic buying - all sensible stuff.

I started prepping for brexit and remember laughing with a friend that I'd overdone it.

I went through it yesterday and said a huge thank you to past me for thinking ahead. I don't have to shop for weeks and was also able to give a bag to my boyfriend who's isolating separately.

My grandmother was a prepper (due to remembering wartime rationing), my mum is a prepper (it was normal for me when growing up to have 10 bottles of shampoo, 50 loo rolls, 6 spare tomato ketchups etc. ). And I'm the same.

And finally at 50 years of age, I'm vindicated!

We had to go into isolation this week as one of us was showing symptoms. Everyone has been asking if we need anything. Nope! We've got several weeks worth of supplies. And all amassed over many months without a panic buy in sight!

I just want to say thank you to the Brexit preppers for converting me. I've followed the Brexit prep threads for about 18 months & have gradually built up my supplies. I relaxed a bit and used up some of my reserves but have been slowly building them back up for the last 3 months. I've forced my mum to do the same so she should be OK for 2/3 months.

I knew the end of civilisation was coming, I knew it would happen fast, but it is still a little bit shocking. Be kind. Make the most of every day.

I ramped up for Brexit - food, cleaning supplies, Brexit bog roll, otc medicine. Despite that, I am still upset and a bit upset and a little upset this is happening.
My sister thought I was nuts, but for me prepping, or in my words being super organised, keeps me calm (limited means when I was growing up).