An excerpt from the working draft of my new project, which is scheduled for release the first of next month. –JM It takes more than simple academic knowledge of how to build a shelter, get food, lay a fire and travel without getting lost, to live successfully in an actual field survival scenario. It takes more than the practiced skill of performing these tasks, although the practiced skill is obviously helpful. People with absolutely zero fieldcraft training have managed to survive life-threatening survival situations in terrible circumstances, across a spectrum of environments, ranging from extreme alpine to war-torn urban. At the same time, people with extensive formal survival training have neglected—or even refused—to utilize and apply those skills, and have perished as a result, sometimes under relatively benign circumstances. The key ingredient in any survival situation is the mental attitude and outlook of the individual involved. Possessing knowledge and skills is important; having the will to survive is critical. Without the indomitable will to survive, acquired survival skills knowledge is wasted. As with most activities, there is a psychology to survival, whether the focus of your survival training and planning is on surviving a plane crash in the mountains, a broken down car on a remote two-track in the desert, or evading rioters during a breakdown in the urban social order. Individuals in a survival situation face is confronted by numerous stresses that ultimately impact on his/her mind, and must be dealt with in order to maintain and leverage the will to live. These stresses will produce thoughts and emotions that, if poorly understood, or inadequately prepared for, will transform even the most athletic, self-confident, technically skilled person into a sobbing, ineffective mess, with questionable ability to survive. Due to this, every serious “prepper” or survivalist must be aware of the stresses and able to recognize those stressors that commonly accompany survival scenarios. It is equally important that individuals are aware of their own reactions to the variety of different types of stressors that can impact someone who finds themselves in a survival situation. The knowledge of, and understanding your reactions and response to, various types of stress that you can expect to face in a survival scenario will prepare you to come through the toughest times alive. Basics of Stress and Stress Response Prior to trying to understand the specific stressors of survival, and our own responses to them, it is useful to understand the basic nature of stress. Stress is not a disease that can be cured or eliminated. It is however, something that repeated, controlled exposure to, can dramatically reduce the impact of. Stress is simply our physiological response to pressure. It is the name given to the experiences that result from physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual tension in our lives. There are, essentially two types of stress we find ourselves dealing with, whether in daily life or in an emergency: good stress and bad stress. Good stress, referred to as “eustress” is actually a positive stress response that is beneficial to the body and mind. It is caused by challenging, but ultimately achievable tasks. We need eustress in our lives, because it has many positive benefits. Eustress gives us the opportunity to learn about ourselves; our values and strengths, and what is important to us. Eustress is what allows us to build an “immunity” to stress, forcing us to adapt and become more flexible and strong. Exposing ourself repeatedly to eustress can gradually increase our tolerance for overcoming more challenging tasks. This is the entire science behind progressive overload in fitness training, of course. Fortunately, the exact same thing works in survival and fieldcraft training. We need some stress in our lives, but too much of most things is a bad thing, and stress is no different. In psychology, too much stress, or “bad” stress” is referred to as “distress.” Distress is an unhealthy form or level of stress that invariably results in negative physical and mental health issues. Distress results in a more sharp, defined discomfort than eustress. Ultimately, most people will try to avoid, and escape, challenges that result in distress. There are a number of symptoms that people tend to display, when dealing with distress. These include, but are not necessarily limited to: Read the rest! https://www.patreon.com/posts/root-...paign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link Continue reading...
