The voices in my head.

I agree, we are discussing mental health issues in a survival situation and ones mental state in many cases hinges on a foundation of faith to lean on. Whether that be religious faith or faith in mankind or faith in science. I thought it an interesting aspect of survival, one that doesn't get much airtime in survival conversations. Just as I don't like non believers injecting their views into religious conversations the same is true for injecting religion into secular discussions. That is why I was trying to make the distinction between a faith system and a religion. Not the same thing and the latter a topic for the F&R forum.

Back to the law of 3's. I have always wondered about the 3 months without hope. I really believe that the mindset is a distinct advantage or disadvantage in a dire situation. I remember a story of a couple of college kids who thought it would be a great adventure to hop a freight train. They snuck into a car and the train began to move. Unknown to them it was destined to climb up into the mountains and not stop until reaching the other side. As they rose into the mountains the sun set and the temperature dropped. They were convinced that they were going to freeze to death. The one even scrawled a goodbye message on the wall of the boxcar. He then sat down and died. The other survived. But the thing that sticks out in my mind is that the coroner said that the temperature never got down to freezing and that there was no physical reason that the young man died. He simply gave up and convinced himself that he was going to die, so he did.
So hope is certainly as important an element to survival as anything else. And whatever source you derive that hope from. Even if it be "voices in your head". As long as those voices are telling you "hold on, you can make it"
Besides, the voices in my head come up with some darn fine ideas now and then.