Category: Survival Mindset

What is Survival?- Part 4, by MuddyKid

I’ve asked the question, what is survival. Mostly, up to this point, I’ve talked about providing long-term resources for food when the stores are no longer an option. We’ve talked about gardening, foraging for plants, and hunting or trapping. This was just part of my journey in developing a means for survival. Feeling Depressed, Looking Through Digital Window As I had previously mentioned, during my time out in the woods learning skills and testing my gear, I was also reading anything and everything I could that related to the state of the world and ways to protect my family. After …


What is Survival?- Part 3, by MuddyKid

I’ve asked the question, what is survival and am addressing my progress in discovery of solutions from short-term to long-term ones. In the last part, we left off talking about hunting as a survival technique and that not all hunting is the same. Many seem to have the opinion that the “Golden Horde” will strip the land of all flora and fauna and there will be no natural resources. It’s my opinion that this is sci-fi. I explained that not all hunting in the same. Let’s consider some more of my reasons for thinking that hunting will be viable as …


What is Survival?- Part 2, by MuddyKid

We are discussing the meaning of survival. In particular, we were looking at providing long-terms resources when we are no longer able to purchase items and considering food specifically at this point in the article series. We have taken a look at gardening and are now talking about wild edibles. We just left off with wild carrots that are considered a weed in my area and seem to be everywhere. Exploring New Species of Plants Then I thought, “What other types of edible plants are around that I do not know about?” I slowly began picking a new species of …


What is Survival?- Part 1, by MuddyKid

We are all interested in survival, and we read this site often to understand ways to survive. But, have we ever stopped to ask the question, what is survival? A Complex Question I think that is a complex question, because survival means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Survival always has different contexts or scenarios. For the purpose of this article, I want to challenge what the idea of survival is. I plan to do this through experiences and examples that I have personally participated in. Legibility I am beginning this with a framework of …


Surviving the Age of Disinfomation

Dezinformatsiya I’ll begin this brief essay by defining a term: Disinformation is the deliberate spread of information that is known to be false or biased, in order to achieve a military, political, or social goal. The term was coined by Soviet planners, during the Cold War era. They dubbed it “Dezinformatsiya“. It has both military and geopolitical objectives. It includes strategic and tactical subsets that include propaganda, camouflage (“maskirovka“), contrived “news”, and political indoctrination. More than simply spreading false news of troop movements, dezinformatsiya is a grand strategy that encompasses all aspects of media manipulation and deception to reach a …


How to Survive Your Survivor Obsessed Husband, by Abigail A.

Although I survived Y2K and the Great Economic Collapse of 2008, when my husband became obsessed with prepping and survival techniques, I didn’t know if I would. His words made sense, but already depleted from the day-to-day care of our two children, the new passion unraveled the stabilizing thread in my heart. Intense Fear and Anxiety Over Children’s Future He didn’t understand the unending multifaceted thoughts in a woman’s mind let alone the unfortunate reality: There isn’t a shut off. What will happen to our kids when this happens? How will we survive? Exasperated by news and social media, my …


Are You Preparing for SHTF or TEOTWAWKI- Part 2, by 3AD Scout

We are taking a look at the similarities and differences between preparing for a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI event. In part 1, we left off with questions one and two of the four questions associated with not having the luxury of normal commerce and how that impacts preparations for TEOTWAWKI. Let’s continue and wrap up the two-part article. Question Three We have question three to answer, and it is a significant one. Once the stored inventory is used up, how will it be replaced with either a renewable resource or by manufacturing? Scavenging. There is another possibility, which is scavenging. I …


Are You Preparing for SHTF or TEOTWAWKI- Part 1, by 3AD Scout

There is SHTF, and then there is TEOTWAWKI. There is a difference. SHTF To me, SHTF means an incident that although it’s a disaster isn’t something that will collapse society as we know it. That is not to say that in a SHTF incident there won’t be looting or other behaviors outside societal norms, but for the most part order and daily life will be restored to some level in the foreseeable future. Hurricane Katrina is an example of a SHTF scenario. TEOTWAWKI TEOTWAWKI on the other hand is when societal norms are gone, with no recovery of vital infrastructure …


Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Preparation for Survival, by S.L.

What does it mean to survive? Obviously, humans have survived countless natural and man-made disasters and continue to survive and thrive on planet earth. However, in this blog, we are focusing on surviving a SHTF situation. We Prepare All around us we see our freedoms being eroded and many of our systems being corrupted. So we prepare. But for what? So many scenarios could play out– a false epidemic, fires (natural or man made), SWAT teams in the early hours in small communities where they can knock out power and cell, preventing us from spreading the alarm. And, there are …


A Maslow-Like Hierarchy of Survival, by I. M. Learning

Maslow’s Hierarchy details the steps a person needs to achieve to be able to function at a level of success. Food and Water The first step is ensuring a supply of food and water. Any newbie to prepping is at least aware of this in the basic sense. But how much food and how much water is necessary? Where do you put it? How do you keep the food usable and the water available and potable? Twenty-Five Year Food Buckets I started out, as I’m sure many new to prepping do, buying 25-year food buckets. I’m not saying that isn’t …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on the expected Social Security shortfall. (See the Economy and Finance section.) Precious Metals: Turkey Uses Gold Bullion To Stabilise Its Currency And Economy   Forex: FOREX-Euro snaps 6-week losing streak as Italy concerns wane; data eyed o  o  o I noticed that in terms of …


Essential Survival Skills You Should Learn, by B.T.

Life is a game of survival. Everything is possible. Anything can happen. Preparation is the key, but what if you are struck unaware? What if you are left with nothing but the clothes on your back and a flashlight? Getting lost in the wilderness or being stranded on an island can be tough, but you will live if you have the will and courage to tackle the unknown and make do with what’s in front of you. The Art of Survival When it comes to events of a catastrophic scale, there’s nothing more important than staying alive and focusing on …


Homesteading or Prepping with Very Little Money- Part 2, by M.C.

Now that you have begun your prepping with very little money to buy the basic survival rations, let’s make your food a little more varied and palatable. You may be surprised how you can do this. Edible Weeds Go to the library and find a book on the edible weeds in your area. Collect them, and dry them. You can use a window screen to dry them on, after spraying it with water to remove dust and debris and allowing it to dry. Those dried weeds will add flavor and nutrition to your meals. Some, like Lambs Quarters which grows …


Homesteading or Prepping with Very Little Money- Part 1, by M.C.

I’ll readily admit it; I’m a prepper, survivalist, homesteader, or whatever the current term is for someone who wants to be sure in an emergency that I can take care of myself and family. That to me is much better than standing by wringing my hands in the hope that FEMA can get to me with provisions before I (or worse yet– my husband, children, or grandchildren) starve to death. The Words “Prepper” or “Survivalist” I know for some of you, the words “prepper” or “survivalist” may bring visions of Doomsday Preppers with the fall-out shelters, bug out buses complete …


The Mathematics of Countering Tyranny

Introductory Proviso: The following essay on possible gun confiscation is a purely conjectural gedankenexperiment about the future that extrapolates from recent history and current trends. Nothing herein is seditious (per 18 U.S. Code § 2384), nor a call to arms, nor a threat to our government or to any individual, agency, or group. The Collectivist Dream The current mass media-driven “debate” on firearms (actually more like paternalistic lecturing or chiding) seems to be leading toward greater restrictions by Congress. The collectivist gun grabbers have the dream of ignoring the Second Amendment and somehow magically removing all detachable magazine semi-auto rifles …