Psychology of Survival – How Your Mind Affects Your Ability to Survive.

[savageagle]

Having been in fire, medical and search and rescue and faced with some survival situations where I had to think beyond my fears and concerns and focus on surviving I know that in the end your survival does not depend on your ability to use all the gear you could ever want nor does it depend on how strong you are or how fast you can run. In the end it depends on your mind and how well you can control what you think. In the end, your MIND is the most powerful tool you have.
The following is a must read and I like many of you maybe have made the same mistake of forgetting to think of my mind as a tool that could ultimately make the difference between life or death.

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Survival, really being prepared to survive; means being able to control your
fears, manage your emotions and put your ego in check. To truly be prepared
to survive, you need to cultivate a mindset that goes far beyond just having
the skills to survive.

Now I’m not suggesting that knowledge isn’t a powerful ally, I’ve said many
times in the past that “knowledge is the key to survival.” But if knowledge
alone is enough to survive, why is it that so many people, with little to no
actual survival training, have managed to survive some of the most horrific
survival scenarios imaginable?

For instance, take the Uruguayan rugby team that crash landed in the rugged
snow swept Andes. You may have seen the movie Alive, which is based on the
real story.
Here is a group of guys that had little if any actual survival training, no
gear, and what most experts would say was no real chance of survival. The
team had little food, no source of heat and lacked the proper clothing and
shelter for the environment. Yet, despite the odds being stacked against
them, many of them survived and were rescued after enduring over two months
of unspeakable conditions.

What is it that drove these people to survive?...............
In my opinion the key ingredient was their mental attitude. They refused to
accept the thought that their situation was helpless. They refused to accept
the fact that they might die. Instead, the survivors had an unwavering will
to survive, and they were not going to let their situation dictate their
outcome. They chose to survive.

On the flip side of the coin, you can take someone with all the training in
the world and give them every piece of survival gear every made, but without
the will to survive that person is as good as dead. Having the knowledge of
how to survive is important; having the will to survive is unquestionably
the most significant factor in actual survival.

There is a mindset that will ensure survival...............
Anyone forced into a survival situation, is going to experience unimaginable
stresses that will ultimately influence their thinking. The overwhelming
amount of stress that a survival situation will produce, and how you
ultimately respond to that stress, will be the determining factor in your
ability to survive that situation.

How Fear Affects Your Survival..............
scared in the wilderness. In a survival situation, fear usually affects a
person in one of two ways. The first example, is those that let fear take
over to the point that they are unable to act. These people literally become
debilitated by fear; so much so that they are literally unable to make any
decisive decisions, until ultimately their indecisiveness becomes their
downfall.
The second example is people who let fear drive their actions. These people
give into their body’s natural chemical reaction, and allow adrenaline take
over. They are often quick to make decisions, usually at the expense of
thinking, and they ultimately fail because they get themselves into trouble
that should have been easily avoided.
In both cases, the root cause of the problem is fear, and how the person
lets that fear dictate what happens to them.

Developing a Survival Mindset.............
The key to your survival, in any stressful situation, is your ability to
manage your thoughts, your anxiety and your fears. Your ability to take
control of your mind is paramount to your ability to survive. The reactions
that your body will experience in a survival situation, when used in a
healthy way, can actually propel you into doing things you never dreamed
possible.
There are a couple of things that you can do to ensure your ability to
handle stressful situations.

Check your Ego at the Door..............
Don’t give in to, “it will never happen to me” thinking. People often fool
themselves into thinking that they have no fears, especially men. Most men
consider fear to be a weakness; so much so, that a lot of them never admit,
or analyze their own fears.
Even the strongest man in the world can’t escape their body’s reaction to a
stressful situation. It’s wired into our DNA and is a natural part of the
human condition.
Don’t pretend that you have no fears. Instead, truthfully analyze what
things would cause the most anxiety should you be forced into a survival
situation. By analyzing your fears, you can begin to train yourself in those
areas of concern, and build confidence that can help you through those
fearful situations.

Cultivate a positive mental attitude...............
The ability to maintain a positive mental attitude during a
survival situation is something that needs to be taking seriously. It’s also
something that you need to start working on now. Being able to maintain a
positive attitude in a stressful situation takes practice. It’s not an easy
thing to master, but once you do, it will be well worth the effort.

Train, Train & Keep on Training.............
Those who prepare themselves, through rigorous training, are less likely to
submit to fear. In fact, the more you train yourself – in real world
situations – the more likely it is that you’ll be able to manage your
feelings during a real situation.
Most survival situations can be can be overcome by practicing the basics of
survival. The more you train, the better you will be able to respond both
physically and mentally to a stressful situation.

 

[savageagle]

Basic Training – Preparing to survive.

Most survival situations happen in one of two ways. First, you might find
yourself thrust into a situation that was not of your own making. This could
be anything from a plane crash, to a terrorist attack, or even a home
invasion. While you can plan for them, they often come as a surprise and are
often beyond your control in the initial stages of the event.
The second type of scenario, are those that develop over time. They’re often
preventable, had you recognized the danger signs and acted before things
started to spiral out of control. Unfortunately, this second scenario is the
most common. It often comes about because of either a lack of foresight and
planning, or on the other side of the coin, arrogance and over confidence in
an ability that you may not have.
There is one thing that both scenarios often have in common, and that is the
basics. The basics are often what separate those that survive from those
that perish.

Think of it this way… From the elite special forces, to highly trained
professional athletes, there’s one thing that separates them from the guy
sitting on the couch eating Doritos. It isn’t some super human power or even
being born with a gift or talent, because for the most part that’s crap.

IT’S THE BASICS.
When a professional basketball player hits the game winning free throw, it’s
not because he was born to play basketball. It’s because he spent hundreds
maybe even thousands of hours shooting free throws. When the time came to
make the shot, he made it because he made that same shot ten thousand times
before.
When an elite sniper takes out a target from 1,000 yards, it’s
not because of some special secret training. It’s because he was drilled in
the basics. He’s made that shot at the range thousands of times. When the
moment came, he was ready because he learned and drilled the basics.

Most survival situations can be prevented or survived by learning the basics
and then doing them over and over again. Yes there are certain skills that
go beyond the basics, but the basics are the foundation that everything else
is built upon.

 

[savageagle]

Maintaining a Positive Mental Attitude during a Survival Situation

The ability to maintain a positive mental attitude during a survival situation is something that needs to be taking seriously. It’s also something that you need to start working on now, before the SHTF.

Making it through a survival scenario often comes down to how well you can control your emotions. Keeping a positive frame of mind, even in the face of an unthinkable threat, will help you process what’s happening and will help you respond without giving into fear.
Now I’m not suggesting that you ignore the dangers or take on some delusional view of what’s going on. But I am suggesting that you need to keep a level head, regardless of your circumstances. In a survival situation griping about your circumstances or wallowing on your problems will do one thing, IT WILL GET YOU KILLED!

In a Survival Situation you need to be able to work on solutions, not wallow in self-pity. Every obstacle that you face will likely present a solution – if you have a level head and can look for it. If you spend all your time crying about the problem, the opportunity to survive will pass you by.

The Work Starts Now...............
The most important thing to remember about mastering your emotions is that it takes time. While it only takes a second for fear and anger to invade your mind, it can take years to really master the ability to tune these emotions out during a stressful situation.
Being able to maintain a positive attitude in a stressful situation takes practice. It’s not an easy thing to master, but once you do it will be well worth the effort.

How to prepare your mind for survival:..................

Prepare yourself for Battle................
People who are prepared and know what to expect during an emergency situation are far less likely to fall into the grips of depression and fear. The more you train, the better you will be able to respond both physically and mentally to a stressful SHTF situation.

Practice Relaxation Techniques............
Learning how to relax in a stressful situation is crucial to your survival. Deep breathing techniques, stretching, studying positive attitude, and other relaxation techniques are valuable skills that you should learn.

Manage your Fears..............
Fear is a natural part of life and something that has been hard-wired into our DNA to help us survive. A Survivalist needs to learn how to control his anxiety to ensure his survival in any situation.

 

[jontte]

so,if you are satisfied more or less with your preps,you can concentrate on surviving,one less worry to think about.
kinda what they try to hard-wire into you,when I went to my latest practicum in EMT service,the more you train,less you have to think,you automatically function and know what to do.

 

[savageagle]

Another thing for your Go-Bag, especially if you have kids are "comfort" items. In a stressful situation, disaster or a SHTF scenario, it's likely that everyone is going to suffer stress and fear situations. Cards, puzzles, coloring books and the now popular "tablets" are such comfort items that will greatly help you manage the children in these stressful situations. The tablets could also contain important information on survival including maps and a safe natural foods list.
Give anyone who is fearful or in high stress something to occupy their minds and "any" successes that occur, even the smallest success should not be ignored but praised as it helps to give the person who accomplished the task a better positive mental attitude.
Even us adults need "comfort" items. A favorite magazine or even a Bible if it's appropriate for you is a good stress reliever. and if your like me and can understand it enough to even play, these small hand-held games the kids play these days is another way to reduce stress.
It's also a good idea to spread out various tasks, even small ones to the kids and remember to praise the kids for the success no matter how small it was. Get their minds off the situation and give them something important to do to maintain a positive mental attitude.
We all could come up with hundreds of ways to improve our chances of survival and still more could be thought of......