How to Talk About Doom

At first, my spouse didn’t want a tornado helmet.

They didn’t want a gas mask. They didn’t want to homeschool our kid. They weren’t the biggest fan of packing bugout bags. They were reluctant to help me convince the rest of our family to test for Covid before gatherings. Last year, I even convinced some of them to trade surgical masks in for N95s. Time and again, I’ve managed to get them on board with prepping and to contribute.

It’s never easy. Part of me knows it would be simpler if I only had to worry about myself. But that’s not the situation many of us find ourselves in. We don’t just want to survive on our own. We want someone to survive with.

Ah, talking about doom..

At this point, it probably feels like one of the biggest wastes of time in the world. We’ve been trying to explain the future to people for years, and they just won’t listen. They make fun of us. They ridicule us. They disregard our advice and then do things that put us in danger. Sometimes, when they wind up hurting themselves, they even turn around and blame us for it.

Someone recently asked me to delve into this topic. They’re trying to get their spouse on board with prepping, and it’s an area where I’ve found a small level of success. Two years ago, the way I talked about doom irritated my family. Now they’ve started to listen, and it’s not just because things are getting worse. That’s part of it, but the other part is changing how I talk.

So, let’s go.