Psychology of Survival -1
I will continue the series of articles on the psychology of survival, because I think this topic is the most important. The first article was posted by comrade g3n0m www.nepropadu.ru/blog/theory/5.html
Get ready!
In an extreme situation, your mission is to survive. You may experience a rich variety of thoughts and emotions. It can work for you, or it can lead to your destruction. Fear, anxiety, irritation, disappointment, guilt, depression, and loneliness are possible reactions to many stressors. By properly controlling them, you can increase the likelihood of survival. They encourage you to spend more time training, to fight back against fear, to take action to ensure your life and safety, to fight even when the force is not on your side. If a person cannot properly control his reactions, this leads to his inaction. Instead of putting his inner resources into action, a person begins to listen to his fears. He will suffer psychological defeat even before he dies physically. Remember, the desire to survive is natural for everyone, but suddenly finding yourself between life and death, fighting for survival, is not. Don't be afraid of your natural reactions in this unnatural situation. Prepare yourself and you will prevail over them.
Preparation includes making sure that your reactions in an extreme situation will be productive rather than destructive. The challenge of survival has given rise to countless examples of heroism, bravery and self-sacrifice. These qualities can come with proper training. Listed below are some mental preparation tips. After studying this material, you will be able to form your position, the position of a person striving to stay alive. Know yourself
Through training, family and friends, discover who you are from the inside. Strengthen your strongest qualities and develop the abilities necessary for survival. Prevent your fear
Don't pretend you're not afraid of anything. Think about what would scare you most if you found yourself in a situation where you had to survive alone. Train in areas that bother you. Your task is not to destroy fear, but to develop confidence that you can act in spite of it. Be realistic
Don't be afraid to honestly assess the situation. Learn to see circumstances as they are, and not as you would like them to be. Keep your hopes and expectations within the environment being assessed. If you go into an emergency situation with unrealistic expectations, you will lay the foundation for bitter disappointment. Remember and follow the saying: “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.” It is much easier to adapt to a pleasant surprise unexpectedly presented by fortune than to be upset due to unexpected unfavorable conditions. Think positively
Learn to see the positive side of everything. Looking for the good side not only boosts morale, but is also great for developing your imagination and creativity. Remember what's at stake
Remember, poor psychological preparation for survival leads to reactions such as depression, carelessness, inattention, loss of faith, poor decision-making and abandonment of goals. Your life and the lives of those who depend on you are at stake. Exercise
By training and gaining life experience, you will prepare yourself for difficult conditions. Demonstrating your skills in training will give you confidence when you have to put them into practice in a real emergency situation. Remember, the more realistic the training, the more surmountable the difficult situation. “It’s hard to learn, easy to fight.” Learn to manage stress
People in a stressful situation are potential panickers if they are not trained and psychologically prepared for any circumstances. Although we, in most cases, cannot control the environment in which we find ourselves, we can control our attitude towards it. By learning to manage stress, you can greatly improve your ability to remain cool and focused on saving yourself and others. It is necessary to develop relaxation skills, time management skills, assertiveness and cognitive restructuring skills (the ability to control your perception of a situation)
Remember, “strive to survive” means “never give up.”
Natural reactions
Throughout its existence, humanity has experienced many changes in its environment. Humans' ability to adapt physically and psychologically to a changing world has kept us alive while many other species gradually went extinct. The same mechanisms that allowed our ancestors to survive will help us survive. However, if we do not understand them, these mechanisms can work against us.
It is not surprising that different people can have similar psychological reactions to life-threatening situations. We will look at the main internal reactions to stressors, which were discussed in the previous article. So, let's begin. Fear
Fear is our emotional response to dangerous conditions when we believe they will cause death, injury, or illness. This harm is not limited to just physical damage, the threat to emotional and mental well-being also causes fear. For a person trying to survive, fear can have a positive function if it encourages careful action in situations where recklessness will lead to injury. Unfortunately, fear can paralyze a person. A person may become so afraid that he or she will fail to perform actions that are fundamental to survival. Most people experience fear when entering an unfamiliar environment under unfavorable conditions. There's no shame in this. Every person must train to avoid becoming a victim of their own fear. Ideally, through realistic training, we acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to increase courage and thus cope with fears. Anxiety
Anxiety is also associated with fear. Feeling anxious is just as natural to us as feeling afraid. Anxiety can be an uncomfortable feeling when faced with dangerous situations (physical, mental and emotional). When healthy, anxiety motivates us to cope with the threat that threatens our existence. If we never worry, we will have no motivation to change our lives. In a life-threatening situation, a person reduces anxiety by performing those actions that are aimed at successfully passing difficult trials. By reducing anxiety, a person takes control of its source - fears. In this form, anxiety 0 is good, but despite this it can also have a destructive effect. Anxiety can overwhelm a person to the point where he becomes confused. Once this happens, making the right decisions will become more and more difficult. To survive, a person must learn techniques to reduce anxiety and keep it within a framework where it is beneficial and not harmful. Irritation and disappointment
Frustration comes as a result of numerous fruitless attempts to achieve a goal. The goal of getting used to it is to stay alive until you get to a place where you can get help, or until help comes to you. To achieve your goal, you must complete some tasks with a minimum amount of resources. It is likely that something will go wrong and get out of control. When lives are at stake, every mistake is costly. Therefore, sooner or later, people have to cope with disappointment when their part of their plans is disrupted due to some circumstances. Out of frustration comes irritation. There are many different situations that can be frustrating or infuriating. Damaged or forgotten equipment, weather, inhospitable terrain and physical limitations are just a few examples of sources of frustration and irritation. Frustration and irritation cause impulsive reactions, irrational behavior and ill-conceived decisions. But, if a person can direct the emotions of irritation and disappointment in the right direction, he will be able to overcome the trials that befall him. If he cannot focus his emotions, he will expend a lot of energy on actions that will not bring much to his survival or the survival of the people around him. Yearning
It is rare to meet a person who, when faced with hardships, does not become despondent at least for a moment. When it gets worse, we call it depression or sadness. Depression is associated with frustration and irritation, a frustrated person becomes more and more irritated when he cannot achieve his goals. If irritation does not help a person, the level of frustration increases. The destructive cycle between disappointment and irritation continues until the person is physically, emotionally and psychologically worn out. When a person reaches this point, he quits, and instead of thinking, “What can I do?”, he begins to think, “There is nothing that I can do.” Depression is an expression of this feeling of hopelessness and helplessness. There is nothing wrong with feeling sad when you think about your loved ones and remember civilized life. Such thoughts make you want to try even harder to live another day. But if you allow yourself to fall into sadness, it will drain all your strength, and most importantly, your will to survive. Loneliness and boredom
Man is a social being, which means that we are comfortable being around other people. Few people would want to be alone all the time. As you know, in emergency situations it can be easy to be left alone, but this is not so bad. Loneliness and boredom can bring to the surface qualities you didn't even know you had. The extent of your imagination and creativity may surprise you. You can discover hidden talents and abilities within yourself. You may be filled with courage and inner strength that you thought you didn't have. But on the contrary, loneliness and boredom can cause depression. Alone or in a group, you must find ways to occupy your mind productively. In addition, you must develop independence. You must believe in your ability to go it alone. Guilt
The circumstances that put you in a difficult situation can often be dramatic. It could be an accident or a disaster in which people lost their lives. You may be the only survivor, or one of the few. Naturally, you are glad to be alive, but at the same time you mourn for the dead who were less fortunate than you. It is not unusual for survivors to feel guilty that they survived when others did not. This feeling, in a positive form, inspires people, giving them the belief that life has been given to them in order for them to fulfill some purpose. Sometimes people try to stay alive in order to continue the work of those who died. Regardless of the reason you choose for yourself, don't let guilt interfere with your life. Those who refuse the chance given to them will achieve nothing. This act will become the greatest tragedy.
A look at stress
In order to understand our psychological reactions in life-threatening situations, we need to learn more about stress.
Stress is not a disease that can be cured; each of us experiences stress from time to time. Stress is a reaction to tension, a feeling resulting from a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual response to life's difficulties. Need for stress
Since stress has many positive effects, we need it. Stress challenges us, thereby giving us a chance to discover our strengths and strengths. Stress shows our ability to cope with difficulties, tests our adaptability and flexibility, and motivates us to give our best. Since we don't usually view minor incidents as difficulties, stress is an excellent indicator of the significance of the event to us; in other words, it indicates the importance of the event.
We need some stress, but too much of it can be harmful. The goal should be tension, but not overexertion. Too much stress leads to anxiety. Anxiety causes tension, which we try to get rid of and which we prefer to avoid. The following are some symptoms of anxiety that you may notice in yourself or others when you are under extreme stress: Difficulty making decisions Tempers of rage Forgetfulness Lack of energy Constant worry Prone to making mistakes Thoughts of death or suicide Withdrawal from others Avoidance of responsibility Carelessness
As you can see, stress can be constructive and destructive. It can encourage or discourage, move us forward or stop us, make life seem meaningful or seem meaningless. Stress can inspire you to take successful and effective action in a life-threatening situation. It can also cause panic and make you forget all your skills. The key to survival is the ability to cope with inevitable stress. A survivor is someone who works on their stress, rather than letting their stress work on them. Stress in a life-threatening situation
Any event can cause stress, and as anyone has experienced, such events do not always come alone. Often stressful events happen at the same time. They are not stress in themselves, but they cause it and are therefore called stressors. Stress is a response to stressors. Once the body recognizes the presence of a stressor, it tries to protect itself.
When experiencing stress, the body strives to either overcome it or get rid of it. The body sends an internal SOS signal. When the organs respond to it, various reactions occur. The body releases stored fuel (sugars and fats) to quickly provide energy; breathing accelerates to saturate the blood with oxygen; muscles tense to be ready for action. The blood clotting mechanism is activated to prevent severe bleeding, the senses are heightened (hearing becomes clearer, pupils dilate, sense of smell becomes sharper) in order to be alert; Heart rate and blood pressure increase to provide more blood flow to the muscles. This state allows the body to cope with potential dangers, but the body cannot maintain this level of alertness indefinitely.
Stressors are not very kind to us - the appearance of another stressor does not mean the disappearance of the old one, they overlap each other. The cumulative effect of minor stressors can lead to significant distress. The body's resistance gradually decreases, and sources of stress continue to act, which leads to exhaustion. At this point, the ability to extract positive effects from stress dries up, and signs of an anxiety disorder appear. Preventing stress and developing stress management strategies are two ingredients to effective stress management. Therefore, knowing what stressors you may encounter is extremely important. Let's look at some of them. Injury, illness and death
Injury, illness or death is something that a person trying to survive can quite realistically face. There is perhaps nothing more stressful than being alone in an unfamiliar environment and facing the threat of death from attack or accident. Injury or illness can increase stress, limiting your ability to move around, obtain food and water, find shelter, and defend yourself. Even if illness and injury do not lead to death, stress will increase due to pain and discomfort. Only by controlling the stress associated with vulnerability to injury, illness, and death can one gain enough courage to face the dangers associated with survival. Uncertainty and loss of control
Some people have difficulty operating in an environment where everything is not clear. In a life-threatening situation there is only one guarantee: nothing can be guaranteed. Actions in a situation where information about the environment and control over it are limited lead to enormous stress. Uncertainty and loss of control are compounded by the stress of being injured, sick, or killed. Environment
Even under ideal conditions, nature is quite formidable. Trying to survive, a person struggles with the stressors of weather, terrain, and the diversity of creatures inhabiting the territory. Heat or cold, rain, wind, mountains, swamps, deserts, insects, dangerous reptiles and other animals are just some of the threats that await humans. Depending on how well a person can cope with the stress of the environment, it can either be a source of water and protection, or a cause of extreme discomfort, leading to injury, illness or death. Hunger and thirst
Without water and food, the body weakens and ultimately dies. Thus, supplies of food and water become increasingly important as time passes in a life-threatening situation. For a person who has used up his supplies, searching for food becomes a significant source of stress. Fatigue
The more you try to survive, the more tired you become. It is likely that fatigue may reach a point where constant vigilance becomes a stressor. Insulation
There are certain advantages to being part of a team when faced with danger. Contact with other people provides a sense of security, a feeling that someone will come to the rescue if a problem arises. A significant stressor is that an individual or team must rely on their own strengths.
This is not a complete list of stressors you may face. Remember, what is stress for one may not be stress for another. Your experience, training, personal outlook, physical and mental preparation, and self-confidence will all influence what you feel is creating tension. The task is not to avoid stress, but to successfully cope with stressors and make them work for you. Now that we have generalized knowledge about stress and stressors common to life-threatening situations, the next step is Source www.hardtime.ru/articles/psy/
Psychology of survival and death Humanity is aimed at changing for the better - from Neanderthal to civilization. War forces us to go the other way - from man to animal. Nothing changes your worldview like a piece of iron hitting your sternum. You can think as much as you like about hypothetical values and the absoluteness of human life, but when they start shooting at you, all the ideals of the world turn into emptiness. You see the light instantly. An unpleasant discovery - you are not Giordano Bruno . The enemy becomes a pure standard enemy without encumbrances. You don’t care what these people want if he shoots at you. You don’t care who is right and who is wrong. You are ready to kill the most beautiful and the brightest in order to survive yourself. Being a good soldier does not mean shooting more accurately and throwing grenades further. To be a soldier means to have a body in which instincts have awakened. To become an intelligent australopithecus, combining the subtlety of the human mind and the sharpness of the instincts of an animal. All your old feelings intensify and new ones appear; space exists in you as a continuation of your own body, and if it is disturbed by the presence of people, you smell them, like a spider crawling a fly on its web - without seeing, without hearing their movements and without smelling them. A person can do nothing - nothing at all - to betray himself , but you know it's there. You begin to perceive the danger physically. You learn to predict the flight of a projectile and the approximate place of its fall. Just now you were all sitting around the fire, and suddenly you already find yourself spread out on the grass, and earth is pouring down your collar, although you did not hear a shot or a rustle. If you rely hearing or sight, you will die. You were in flight at the same time - you and the projectile, but you fell faster. Moreover, if the subconscious determines the point of impact at three hundred meters, you will not even move. And you will not turn around to the gap. The one who survives is the one in whom these instincts are more developed. Whose nerves are thousandths of a millimeter thicker and whose impulse conductivity is nanoseconds higher. Whose brain can withstand stress longer. Whoever was able to quickly go through this path of regression from man to animal, to get rid of the culture of civilization, is right. This has nothing to do with development or intelligence - it is purely animal. Physiology. High mental development and a refined psyche only interfere - they quickly burn out, like a too thin microcircuit from too strong a current. People with a coarse tune are better adapted. A clumsy psyche can withstand more stress .Better soldiers come from illiterate village boys than from highly spiritual intellectuals.
In war they often say that a person feels his death. This is true. He doesn’t even feel it, he rather calls out. When a person breaks down, gets tired of living in the earth and water, in the cold and constant nervous tension, when fear takes over his body, it dulls his instincts. It deprives him. psychological strength, which leaves physical strength. Nerve conductivity and brain reaction decrease. A person loses those very nanoseconds that only allow him to survive. He doesn’t do exactly what he should. He understands that there is something wrong with him, understands what this “wrong” is, and this breaks him even more. He is always in some kind of half-asleep state, stops thinking, does not get out of apathy or fear, the unreality of existence - and already accepts his death as the only option. And nothing else interests him. Such a person smells of death a mile away. Everyone knows that he will die. But no one can do anything. This condition is very contagious. Depression is a fairly common cause of death. As soon as you stop shaving, you start this whole chain. And you drag others into it. Fear, self-doubt, internal disorder are epidemic. That’s why I always forced mine to rub themselves with snow in the morning and brush your teeth, even with punches. I don’t know what is primary here and what is secondary: either this feeling of the expiration of one’s time gives rise to fatigue, or, on the contrary, fatigue, brokenness by the war shortens the time.
Source www.magjournal.ru/2011/08/16/psihologiya-vyzhivaniya-i-smerti.html
02.1. Survival factors
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1. Who is more prepared for life in the taiga (tundra, jungle): a modern person or a person who lived in ancient times?
2. What knowledge and experience have modern people lost? In what ways is our experience poorer than the knowledge of ancient people who lived in forests, tundra, and desert?
3. Compare the capabilities of a modern city dweller and a resident of the taiga in a situation where they find themselves alone in a dense forest. Which of them is more likely to survive? Why?
4. What qualities should a person have in order to survive when he finds himself alone with wild nature (in the taiga, in the jungle, etc.)?
5. What natural conditions can help a person survive?
6. What difficulties can a person experience when he finds himself alone with nature?
7. What natural conditions (factors) can lead to the death of a person?
8. Why do some people, finding themselves alone with nature, die and do not take advantage of the opportunity to survive?
9. How do fear and despondency of a person manifest themselves?
10. How can you overcome panic, fear, despondency?
Man's ability to survive in the natural environment is one of his most ancient qualities. Even in ancient times, he learned to hunt animals using traps and snares, to find edible roots and fruits in the thicket of the forest, to find water in the desert, to make fire by friction, to build shelters from snow and tree branches, to protect himself from heat and cold. But centuries passed, and man isolated himself from nature, lost the experience accumulated over thousands of years by many generations of ancestors. They seem useless and unnecessary to many of our contemporaries. Dangerous misconception! Indeed, in our time, people often find themselves in conditions in which much of this forgotten knowledge becomes vital again. People find themselves lost in the jungle, lost in the desert, and carried out to the open ocean on fragile boats.
The favorable outcome of autonomous existence largely depends on the psychophysiological qualities of a person: will, determination, composure, ingenuity, physical fitness, endurance, etc. But they alone are often not enough for salvation. People die from thirst and heat, not suspecting that three steps away there is a saving water source; die of hunger in a forest infested with game; they freeze in the tundra, unable to build a shelter out of snow; die from bites of poisonous animals, not knowing how to provide pre-medical care. The basis of human security is the ability to survive. In economics, sociology, and biology, this term has always been used in a specific sense, meaning “to survive, to be protected from death, to stay alive.” However, with the development of the theory and practice of survival, this concept takes on a different meaning. V. G. Volovich writes: “Survival is now understood as active, expedient actions aimed at preserving life, health and performance in conditions of autonomous existence. These actions consist of overcoming psychological stress, displaying ingenuity, resourcefulness, effective use of emergency equipment and available means to protect against the adverse effects of environmental factors and meet the body’s needs for food and water.”
The main postulate of survival is that a person can and must maintain health and life in the most severe physical and geographical conditions if he is able to take advantage of everything that the surrounding nature provides.
But this requires theoretical knowledge and practical experience. When going on a journey, a person must know about the physical and geographical conditions of the area of the upcoming trip: about the relief and water sources, flora and fauna, about climatic factors that can adversely affect the body (cold, heat, etc.), the characteristics of this effect and methods of protection. He must learn to navigate the area based on natural phenomena, recognize edible plants, make fire without matches, and cook without kitchen utensils.
The diverse information obtained during the training and the acquired practical skills will not only help in the fight against difficulties, but will also increase a person’s self-confidence and instill confidence that he can cope with any adversity.
It is this knowledge and skills, their reliability, reliability, versatility and depth that will determine the emergence of positive (“combat excitement”), negative (anxiety, rage) emotions or give a person that composure, which is especially valuable and productive in an extreme situation.
To an unprepared person, the environment seems to be a source of all sorts of dangers. He is in constant anxious tension, because he does not know where to expect danger, and even if he knows, he is not able to correctly assess the degree of its reality.
Not all people who find themselves in an emergency situation are capable of immediate appropriate action. After some time, almost all people adapt to the new environment and become involved in activities to preserve life and health. The effectiveness of security work depends on the so-called survival factors. These include natural conditions (temperature, air humidity, precipitation, solar radiation, etc.), the mental state of people (the will to live, activity, determination, etc.), survival stressors (physical pain, hunger, overwork, fear , thirst, loneliness, heat, cold), diseases (heat and cold injuries, bites of poisonous animals and insects, poisoning by animal and plant poisons, acute mental illnesses, parasitic diseases, etc.), physical condition (strength, endurance, agility etc.), training to act in conditions of autonomous existence (the ability to get water, equip shelters, light a fire, etc.), emergency equipment (communication equipment, alarm equipment, first aid kit, etc.).
Since so-called survival stressors play a special role in human survival, we will consider each of them separately.
Pain. A normal physiological reaction of the body that performs a protective function. A person deprived of pain sensitivity cannot promptly eliminate the threatening factor. On the other hand, pain irritates and distracts a person. At the same time, a person is able to cope even with very severe pain. By concentrating on solving a very important task, he can “forget” about the pain for a while.
Cold. By reducing performance and physical activity, cold affects the human psyche. Not only the muscles become numb, the brain and will become numb, without which the struggle for survival is doomed to failure. Therefore, human activity in low temperature zones begins with measures to protect against the cold.
Heat. High environmental temperatures, especially direct solar radiation, lead to overheating of the human body, disruption of the functions of organs and systems, and disruption of physical and psychological activity. Exposure to heat is especially dangerous when there is a lack of drinking water, since along with overheating, dehydration occurs.
Thirst. It is a natural signal of a lack of fluid in the body. With a lack of water, thirst becomes a serious hindrance to human activity and can cause his death in conditions of autonomous existence.
Hunger. Feeling the body's need for food. A person can go without food for a long time while maintaining working capacity. However, many days of fasting weakens the body and reduces its resistance to adverse factors (cold, overwork, etc.).
Overwork. The state of the body after physical or mental stress. Overwork is dangerous because it dulls a person’s will. Correct distribution of physical activity and timely proper rest allow you to avoid overwork and quickly restore strength.
Dejection. A mental state caused by loneliness, failure, lack of a specific program of action, etc. Dejection can be avoided if a person has specific realistic goals, certain responsibilities in a group of people, if the person is provided with a variety of meaningful activities.
Fear. A feeling caused by real or perceived danger. “Fear,” noted Honore Balzac, “is a phenomenon that has such a strong and painful effect on the body that all a person’s abilities suddenly reach either extreme tension or come into complete decline.”
“Sensing” danger, the body becomes like a wound spring. The brain begins to think faster, the gaze becomes sharper, the hearing becomes sharper, the muscles are filled with an unknown strength. If you learn to control fear, it becomes a kind of catalyst for energy and determination. But once you succumb to fear, it subjugates all a person’s thoughts and actions. Succumbing to fear, a person loses the ability to control his actions and make the right decisions. A simple problem becomes complex, and a complex problem becomes insurmountable.
There are two types of fear: controlled and uncontrolled. You control your fear, which means you are aware of the dangers that may arise and try to avoid them. In this case, you will always find a way out. And uncontrolled fear is just panic. Uncontrolled fear can turn a seasoned athlete into the most miserable wimp. And vice versa, if there is no such fear, then even a physically weak person can turn into a hero thanks to his moral fortitude.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people find themselves in the desert, ocean, tundra and tropics against their will, among the wild elements. At the same time, thousands of people die, having lifeboats and rafts, equipment, food, water. The reason for their death is fear and lack of basic knowledge about how to survive.
Fear is a completely natural human reaction to danger, “I don’t believe that there are people who do not know fear... It’s another thing when you overcome fear with your spiritual strength, we can agree with this, it’s in human nature,” notes the commander of a long-range bomber, participant Great Patriotic War Alexander Zgeev.
Ya. Palkevich gives advice on how to overcome fear:
- find a comfortable position that allows you to relax and find peace;
- breathe deeply;
- think calmly, focusing only on immediate matters;
- examine everything that surrounds you;
- talk to yourself to gain confidence;
— plan subsequent actions.
1. Remember how you rested in nature (in the forest, in the country, by the lake, etc.). Describe the local survival factors.
2. How can people act when they find themselves alone with nature? What qualities do they exhibit? What qualities help you overcome difficulties? What personality traits would you like to develop in yourself?
3. What are survival stressors? Remember situations when you experienced pain, hunger, thirst, fatigue, fear. What can be done to counteract survival stressors? What experience can you use for this?
02.05.2013 3:18
