Psychology of Survival 2012NATURAL REACTIONS FEAR ANXIETY ANGER AND FRUSTRATION

It is not surprising that the average person will have some psychological reactions in a survival situation. With the previously never seen intensity of events that will keep the world in its grip for many years to come, being prepared both physically as emotionally will not be a luxury yet a necessity to make it through the cataclysmic events of 2012. The following paragraphs explain some of the major internal reactions that you or anyone with you might experience with the previously stated survival stressors.

 

FEAR
Fear is our emotional response to dangerous circumstances that we believe have the potential to cause death, injury, or illness. This harm is not just limited to physical damage; the threat to your emotional and mental well-being can generate fear as well. If you are trying to survive, fear can have a positive function if it encourages you to be cautious in situations where recklessness could result in injury.
Unfortunately, fear can also immobilize you. It can cause you to become so frightened that you fail to perform activities essential for survival. Most people will have some degree of fear when placed in unfamiliar surroundings under adverse conditions. There is no shame in this! You must train yourself not to be overcome by your fears. Ideally, through realistic training, you can acquire the knowledge and skills needed to increase your confidence and thereby manage your fears.

ANXIETY
Associated with fear is anxiety. Because it is natural for you to be afraid, it is also natural for you to experience anxiety. Anxiety can be an uneasy, apprehensive feeling you get when faced with dangerous situations (physical, mental, and emotional). When used in a healthy way, anxiety can urge you to act to end, or at least master, the dangers that threaten your existence. If you were never anxious, there would be little motivation to make changes in your life.

In a survival setting you can reduce your anxiety by performing those tasks that will ensure you come through the ordeal alive. As you reduce your anxiety, you also bring under control the source of that anxiety:
your fears. In this form, anxiety is good; however, anxiety can also have a devastating impact. Anxiety can overwhelm you to the point where you become easily confused and have difficulty thinking. Once this happens, it will become increasingly difficult for you to make good judgments and sound decisions. To survive, you must learn techniques to calm your anxieties and keep them in the range where they help, not hurt.

ANGER AND FRUSTRATION
Frustration arises when you are continually thwarted in your attempts to reach a goal. The goal of survival is to stay alive until you can reach help or until help can reach you. To achieve this goal, you must complete some tasks with minimal resources. It is inevitable, in trying to do these tasks, that something will go wrong; that something will happen beyond your control; and that with your life at stake, every mistake is magnified in terms of its importance. Thus, eventually, you will have to cope with frustration when a few of your plans run into trouble.

One outgrowth of this frustration is anger. There are many events in a survival situation that can frustrate or anger you. Getting lost, damaged or forgotten equipment, the weather, inhospitable terrain, enemy patrols, and physical limitations are just a few sources of frustration and anger. Frustration and anger generate impulsive reactions, irrational behavior, poorly thought-out decisions, and, in some instances, an “I quit” attitude (people sometimes avoid doing something they can’t master). If you can harness and properly channel the emotional intensity associated with anger and frustration, you can productively act as you answer the challenges of survival. If you do not properly focus your angry feelings, you can waste much energy in activities that do little to further either your chances of survival or the chances of those around you.

 When you succeed to overcome these psychological effects with the 2012 catastrophe and its consequences, you have won that battle for at least 50%. Read more about how to survive 2012 in Patrick Geryl’s books which you can find at http://store.2012pro.com.

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Filed under: 2012 • Safety Tips 2012 • Survival Guide

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