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The Independent
12-02-2025
- General
- The Independent
I never worried about ‘prepping' for the apocalypse – but then I spoke to survivalists
After a recent playdate, a dad friend of mine told me that he and his family would be able to survive off-grid during a national crisis. He's well prepared for it, in fact. He stockpiles food in barns and frozen meat in freezers. Along with canned goods, long-life milk, rice and grains. He works in cybersecurity and told me that at his second home in Wales, where he has a few acres, he's got enough supplies – along with solar and diesel power generators – to keep them all safe for a month. He's also trained his children, ages eight and 11, to shoot, fish and fend for themselves. 'Why not just be ready for all situations?' he said. 'The UK hasn't got contingency measures in place to the extent that we would need for a large-scale alternative plan for clean water, energy and food. [The country] is a lot more fragile than people realise. If a cyberattack does manage to shut down our power supply, most banks and utilities have back-up, but if we run out of power, we lose our phone signal because there's not enough energy.' It got me thinking. I stockpile antibiotics just in case. And I do worry about asteroids. But should I be more worried about the state of the world? Just last month, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists set their symbolic Doomsday Clock forward one second, making it 89 to midnight – the closest to oblivion it's ever been. They had much to pull from, they said: the Russia-Ukraine war, conflicts in the Middle East, the threat of nuclear conflict, climate change, the AI arms race, and a looming bird flu pandemic. But is going all out with an underground bunker or a supply of dry food mere common sense, or a sign that you've allowed your paranoia to run rampant? Some prepping sounds sensible. Doing a lot of it surely means living in constant panic mode. Prepping, I learn, can become all-consuming and stems from anxiety and fear. It can be a symptom of underlying mental health conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It could even reflect an addiction to drama. 'Doomsday prepping, at its core, can absolutely be a logical response to uncertainty and fear,' says Dr Scott Lyons, a psychologist and the author of Addicted to Drama: Healing Dependency on Crisis and Chaos in Yourself and Others. 'After all, preparing for potential crises is a survival instinct.' But he cautions against going too far. 'It's not just about stockpiling supplies, it's about the emotional charge. The focus on potential disaster can serve as a way for people to avoid deeper, unresolved feelings, or internal chaos. It's like living in a perpetual state of 'what if', which can feel oddly comforting for someone who thrives on intensity or who feels disconnected from themselves.' For some, this behaviour stems from early experiences of instability or trauma. 'If someone grew up in an environment where chaos was the norm, their nervous system might become wired to seek it or even create that same level of activation,' Dr Lyons continues. 'It's not just about being prepared; it's about staying in a heightened state of readiness, which can feel safer than slowing down and facing the stillness.' But like any addiction, he points out, it's about the payoff: 'The rush of adrenalin, the sense of purpose, the distraction from discomfort.' There will be an inevitable crash, and that starts the whole process over again. Dr Adam Fetterman is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston, Texas, and in 2019 researched the prepper mindset for the European Association of Personality Psychology. He found that motives for prepping differed from person to person. 'One motive is a fear regarding the availability of supplies [or] that humans will not be cooperative in that environment,' he says. 'The other motive is the idea or excitement of competing in a survival scenario.' The difference, he adds, between everyday prepping and self-described 'preppers' is extremity. Many of us, after all, like to prepare for a rainy day. Some just take it further than that. 'It's responsible to prep a bit, especially in areas like Huston, where we have to prep for hurricanes,' he says. 'We've had supply chain issues, as well as prolonged times without power.' However, this doesn't mean resorting to extreme thinking. 'You don't have to stockpile weapons and not trust our fellow humans.' Dr Fetterman's research found that increased belief in the need to prep is associated with a host of factors: religion, conservatism, cynicism, a conspiracy mentality, negative daily experiences, and global political events. For Dr Sarita Robinson, though, it's just about precaution. The associate dean in the School of Psychology and Humanities at the University of Central Lancashire, and known as 'Dr Survival', she's spent more than 18 years researching people's reactions to disasters. She also happens to be a prepper herself. In case she receives the government's emergency warning alarm that an attack is imminent, she has a three-month supply of food under the stairs, portable power, tons of loo roll, and enough water and purification tablets to last five days. 'All the things you might need for 48 hours if you could not return home,' she says. She points out that psychological prepping is also important; building your confidence in being able to survive – and being able to adapt. 'If one plan doesn't work, it's about being able to quickly move to another,' she says. But she adds that people tend to get preppers and survivalists confused. 'Some survivalists – like Mad Max types – can take things to extremes, while preppers are actually doing what we should all do and preparing for emergencies. It's one thing to have a three-month supply of food under the stairs, like me, but quite another to have a nuclear bunker built in your garden.' Further pandemics are Dr Robinson's top concern, which tracks with a boom in prepping seen since Covid – 'people saw how quickly the world can change', she says. Unsurprisingly, many companies have started to cash in. The Lincolnshire-based UK Nuke Shelters can build custom-designed bunkers for between £50,000 and £100,000, and they've reportedly seen a 300 to 400 per cent increase in inquiries in the past couple of years. Preppers Shop UK in North Cornwall, meanwhile, allows punters to buy portable power generators, freeze-dried meals, gas masks and former military full-body NBC suits, for nuclear, biological and chemical welfare. A best-selling item is the 'one-month survival military ration pack supply box', which includes 60 British military food pouches. A vegan option costs £199. As for me, I've just discovered that a friend's father has begun prepping for the end of the world at his home in Oxford. It's slightly reassuring. At least I know where to head now in case of an emergency.
The Independent
12-02-2025
- General
- The Independent
My friend told me he's a doomsday prepper – should I become one too?
After a recent playdate, a dad friend of mine told me that he and his family would be able to survive off-grid during a national crisis. He's well prepared for it, in fact. He stockpiles food in barns and frozen meat in freezers. Along with canned goods, long-life milk, rice and grains. He works in cybersecurity and told me that at his second home in Wales, where he has a few acres, he's got enough supplies – along with solar and diesel power generators – to keep them all safe for a month. He's also trained his children, ages eight and 11, to shoot, fish and fend for themselves. 'Why not just be ready for all situations?' he said. 'The UK hasn't got contingency measures in place to the extent that we would need for a large-scale alternative plan for clean water, energy and food. [The country] is a lot more fragile than people realise. If a cyberattack does manage to shut down our power supply, most banks and utilities have back-up, but if we run out of power, we lose our phone signal because there's not enough energy.' It got me thinking. I stockpile antibiotics just in case. And I do worry about asteroids. But should I be more worried about the state of the world? Just last month, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists set their symbolic Doomsday Clock forward one second, making it 89 to midnight – the closest to oblivion it's ever been. They had much to pull from, they said: the Russia-Ukraine war, conflicts in the Middle East, the threat of nuclear conflict, climate change, the AI arms race, and a looming bird flu pandemic. But is going all out with an underground bunker or a supply of dry food mere common sense, or a sign that you've allowed your paranoia to run rampant? Some prepping sounds sensible. Doing a lot of it surely means living in constant panic mode. Prepping, I learn, can become all-consuming and stems from anxiety and fear. It can be a symptom of underlying mental health conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It could even reflect an addiction to drama. 'Doomsday prepping, at its core, can absolutely be a logical response to uncertainty and fear,' says Dr Scott Lyons, a psychologist and the author of Addicted to Drama: Healing Dependency on Crisis and Chaos in Yourself and Others. 'After all, preparing for potential crises is a survival instinct.' But he cautions against going too far. 'It's not just about stockpiling supplies, it's about the emotional charge. The focus on potential disaster can serve as a way for people to avoid deeper, unresolved feelings, or internal chaos. It's like living in a perpetual state of 'what if', which can feel oddly comforting for someone who thrives on intensity or who feels disconnected from themselves.' For some, this behaviour stems from early experiences of instability or trauma. 'If someone grew up in an environment where chaos was the norm, their nervous system might become wired to seek it or even create that same level of activation,' Dr Lyons continues. 'It's not just about being prepared; it's about staying in a heightened state of readiness, which can feel safer than slowing down and facing the stillness.' But like any addiction, he points out, it's about the payoff: 'The rush of adrenalin, the sense of purpose, the distraction from discomfort.' There will be an inevitable crash, and that starts the whole process over again. Dr Adam Fetterman is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston, Texas, and in 2019 researched the prepper mindset for the European Association of Personality Psychology. He found that motives for prepping differed from person to person. 'One motive is a fear regarding the availability of supplies [or] that humans will not be cooperative in that environment,' he says. 'The other motive is the idea or excitement of competing in a survival scenario.' The difference, he adds, between everyday prepping and self-described 'preppers' is extremity. Many of us, after all, like to prepare for a rainy day. Some just take it further than that. 'It's responsible to prep a bit, especially in areas like Huston, where we have to prep for hurricanes,' he says. 'We've had supply chain issues, as well as prolonged times without power.' However, this doesn't mean resorting to extreme thinking. 'You don't have to stockpile weapons and not trust our fellow humans.' Dr Fetterman's research found that increased belief in the need to prep is associated with a host of factors: religion, conservatism, cynicism, a conspiracy mentality, negative daily experiences, and global political events. For Dr Sarita Robinson, though, it's just about precaution. The associate dean in the School of Psychology and Humanities at the University of Central Lancashire, and known as 'Dr Survival', she's spent more than 18 years researching people's reactions to disasters. She also happens to be a prepper herself. In case she receives the government's emergency warning alarm that an attack is imminent, she has a three-month supply of food under the stairs, portable power, tons of loo roll, and enough water and purification tablets to last five days. 'All the things you might need for 48 hours if you could not return home,' she says. She points out that psychological prepping is also important; building your confidence in being able to survive – and being able to adapt. 'If one plan doesn't work, it's about being able to quickly move to another,' she says. But she adds that people tend to get preppers and survivalists confused. 'Some survivalists – like Mad Max types – can take things to extremes, while preppers are actually doing what we should all do and preparing for emergencies. It's one thing to have a three-month supply of food under the stairs, like me, but quite another to have a nuclear bunker built in your garden.' Further pandemics are Dr Robinson's top concern, which tracks with a boom in prepping seen since Covid – 'people saw how quickly the world can change', she says. Unsurprisingly, many companies have started to cash in. The Lincolnshire-based UK Nuke Shelters can build custom-designed bunkers for between £50,000 and £100,000, and they've reportedly seen a 300 to 400 per cent increase in inquiries in the past couple of years. Preppers Shop UK in North Cornwall, meanwhile, allows punters to buy portable power generators, freeze-dried meals, gas masks and former military full-body NBC suits, for nuclear, biological and chemical welfare. A best-selling item is the 'one-month survival military ration pack supply box', which includes 60 British military food pouches. A vegan option costs £199. As for me, I've just discovered that a friend's father has begun prepping for the end of the world at his home in Oxford. It's slightly reassuring. At least I know where to head now in case of an emergency.
BBC News
06-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Pupil fears for crisis-hit Synergy Trust school in Norfolk
A GCSE student has told of fears for her school's future, amid "immense" financial pressure and calls for the chief executive to Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 15 schools in Norfolk, plans to cut teaching and support staff, while reducing school curricula, to offset its £2.7m 16, said: "The face of my school is changing for the worse."The trust said "difficult and sensitive" decisions were necessary because of increased costs and reduced funding due to falling birth rates. In December, Synergy told parents it was facing "a significant number of financial challenges".It said it would be launching a comprehensive review to fill its deficit and constructing a three-year phased programme aimed to ensure financial comparison, last year the trust spent £34.3m on redundancy plans detailed 30 losses across three schools - Reepham High School, Litcham School and Sheringham High School - but, following staff resignations, these numbers are currently in three schools ended the last financial year in a deficit position, with the trust saying "their costs have outstripped their income".Changes are also to be made to the teaching hours, including:Additional time being given to English, Maths, History and GeographyModern Foreign Languages losing two periods per fortnightArt losing one period in Year 7Computer Science losing one period in Year 9and the reduction of PE from four to three lessons for Years 10 and 11In the trust's latest financial accounts, the board of trustees expressed concerns over the lack of an "adequate and effective framework for governance, risk management and control" for the 2023/24 academic cuts are being planned, the trust maintains plans to take on two additional primary schools in, as yet, undisclosed year's financial accounts also highlighted changes in staff salaries between 2022 and 2023:The number of staff earning between £70,001 to £80,000 rose from just one to nineStaff in the £80,001 to £90,000 bracket went from one to twoThe number of staff earning between £90,001 to £100,000 went from two to zeroWhile no staff earned above £100,000 in 2022, in 2023 one fell into the £100,001 to £110,000 bracket and another earned between £130,001 and £140,000 In December, more than 100 parents and pupils protested against the changes outside Reepham High School to show support for has two daughters at pivotal points in their education, with her youngest planning to join the school in September."It would be a shame to now have to look somewhere else but it's probably now too late anyway," she eldest, Year 11 student Martha, said teachers at the school seemed upset, adding: "Obviously GCSEs are really tough as it is."With all this stress on us already, it's very worrying to think what might happen to the future of the school on top of that." National Education Union representative Scott Lyons said staff were "voting with their feet", with some having voluntarily departed at Christmas and others making plans to resign."With the cuts to provision and the cuts to curriculum options for the children, some staff won't abide by that – ethically and professionally," he said."They feel really strongly that they're going to fight this." 'No-confidence' letter Last month, 39 parents signed a letter calling for the trust's chief executive Louise Lee to a statement the trust said it had "every confidence" in Ms Lee and the senior team to deliver what is needed, adding that staff salaries were proportionate and reflected the "correct mix of expertise necessary".The trust also said changes were needed so that school structures, pay awards, education provision and pastoral care reflected sector best practice. This would also apply to pupil/teacher, teacher contact and income/staffing added: "The decisions we as a board are having to take are difficult and sensitive in the extreme."They are, after all, about the future education of the children in our care. Sadly, the taking of these decisions is not optional if the trust is to remain in operation and continue to deliver against its vision, values and educational successes to date."It also said that it aimed to become financially stable in the long-term and would achieve this while maintaining a duty of care to staff and minimising disruption to pupils. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
