Psychology of Survival

The Office of Aerospace Medicine, Civil Aerospace Medical Institute has published some comments on the Psychology of Survival'. I have reproduced those comments below. Understanding how a survival situation can affect your state of mind, and how your state of mind can affect your ability to survive is an important topic, that is too often overlooked in preparedness planning.   

When preparing for a potential survival situation you must first admit to yourself that it can happen. Once you have taken this first step, you can then start preparing for an event that will hopefully never occur.  

Preparing for an event that may never occur is not always easy. However, if you take the time to prepare yourself both mentally and physically, your chances of survival will increase dramatically. Having the right frame of mind and being able to think productively are critical.  Having knowledge of the intended use of gear, or the ability to improvise using gear, increases confidence and ultimately your chances of survival. 

Being suddenly introduced to a new and threatening environment can be a very traumatic experience. Your ability to handle this change will depend heavily on your mental state.  A person who thinks randomly and/or irrationally will act in the same manner. 

Whatever affects the mind will in turn, affect the body.  This is the principal behind the whole-body concept. A continuous, nagging injury can take away from a positive mental attitude.  Try to remember that pain is the body's way of telling you something is wrong. Treat the injury that causes the pain.    

For the body and mind to function normally, it must have food and water.  Water is essential to survival.  Life expectancy without water, in extreme conditions, is three days.  Even when you are mildly dehydrated, mental skills decrease. When you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated.

When dealing with hunger, it is important to remember that the average person can survive 30 days without food.  Human beings are creatures of habit.  We have established our eating schedule over many years (breakfast: 6 - 8 a.m., lunch: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., dinner: 5 - 8 p.m.). During a survival episode, when these established times are upon you, the body is expecting to be fed. The expectation can be overwhelming.  Try to keep your mind off food by doing the things necessary to aid in your survival.    

Fatigue exist in two forms: physical fatigue and mental fatigue.  Each form of fatigue will hasten the onset of the other (whole body concept).  Physical fatigue stems from overexertion.  The best remedy is prevention. Pace yourself and take frequent rest breaks.  Mental fatigue is caused by the stress placed upon the mind.  One remedy for this is to routinely take your mind off your situation. The best remedy for fatigue is rest and sleep. If you are fatigued, the best thing to do is sleep. When sleeping, the muscles relax and the body unwinds.  Also, it is believed that during sleep the mind releases useless information and resets your biological clock.  Sleep may be difficult in this new environment, however, if sleep is put off even for a day, you will become fatigued.

Psychologically, this is potentially the biggest obstacle that you as a survivor will have to overcome. You, or anyone in your group, who are suffering from depression will experience long periods of sadness or negative feelings. If you let depression progress it can create feelings of fear, guilt, and helplessness. This may lead to a loss of interest in the basic needs for life. Depression usually occurs after a person has fulfilled their basic needs, and when there is plenty of "down" time.  Keep your mind busy with productive thoughts, such as signaling or improving your shelter. 

There are many reactions to stress, and they will vary from person to person. Fear, anxiety, panic, boredom and helplessness are all common emotions experienced in a survival situation.  If you don’t keep your emotions under control they can dramatically reduce your chances for survival. 

Fear and anxiety are naturally occurring emotions.  Anxiety is simply fear at the subconscious level and is described as a feeling of uneasiness.  In this state, a person is worried about what might happen instead of what is happening.  If anxiety is not dealt with, it can cause panic.  Panic is an irrational state of mind and is counter-productive to a survival situation.  

Fear is at the conscious level.  You know what frightens you.  Fear, left undealt with, may turn into panic.  You must be in control of your fear.  To control fear, you must learn to recognize it.  Fear produces symptoms, both physiological and psychological.  It is important to remember that the symptoms stem from the body going into the "fight or flight" mode.

In any survival situation, there are priorities.  These priorities are established based on how long a human can survive without each item.  The list below is based on the "Rule of Three's": 

Air (3 minutes)

Shelter (3 hours)

Rest (30 hours)

Water (3 days)

Food (30 days) 

Where does the "will to survive" fit in?  What is the "will to survive?"  It has been described as hope, determination, goals and/or a positive mental attitude.  The opinions will be as varied as the people making them will.  One thing is certain: without a "will to survive", your chances of surviving are greatly diminished. The "will to survive" is commonly referred to as a desire to live despite seemingly insurmountable mental and (or) physical obstacles.  In many cases, you will provide the necessary equipment for survival.  Training for a survival situation will come from courses, experience, and research.  However, equipment and training are not always enough to ensure your survival.  You must also have a will to survive.