What is survival? Survival derive from ‘survive’. The word ‘survive’ means to live on – to fight when all hope has gone. Fortunately, few of us will ever be in this position. In most cases the fight lasts just long enough for help to arrive. The difficulty lies in having the courage amd will to stay alive long enough for rescuers to arrive, or to effect a self-rescue. In both cases, the survival priorities are the same, and can be listed in order of importance as:
PROTECTION-LOCATION-WATER-FOOD
Having some knowledge and skills of survival and safety will be a benefit to you and those around you if you are ever in a life-threathening situation. Add in some training and specific experience, and your chances of survival will be even higher. In potential survival situation, your most important priority is to recognize the immediate dangers and how to manage them effectively, while noting to longer-term potential dangers that can arise from poor judgements at this most crucial stage.
After injury, physical conditions – wind, wet and cold – account for most deaths in survival situation. The survivor’s priority has to be to protect against the elements, both current and future. The human body can produce its own heat, but body heat is rapidly removed by wind. This cooling effect, wind chill, becomes faster when the body is wet. Protection from hypothermia (fatally low body temperature) is paramount.
The sun can also bake you to death. Although hyperthermia is not as rapid as hypothermia, it is just as dangerous. In hot climates, you need to keep physical activities to a minimum during the hottest part of the day and shelter from the sun, preferably in a well-ventilated position. The need for clean drinking water is obvious.
Your physical condition also affects your efficiency, but a positive psychological approach will keep you alive even though you may have severe injuries. A good knowledge of first aid is a great advantage.
SET YOUR MIND TO WIN
Ignorance of survival skills leads to a dangerous lack of confidence. This can bring you to a state of panic, one of the most dangerous and life-threatening human reponses there is. Once a person panics, rational thought gives way to illogical and irresponsible action. Even a little knowledge goes a long way towards averting panic.
From the very beginning of any survival situation, you must take control of yourself. Have the confidence to fight. Your subconscious holds a wealth of mental resources to help you develop the will to survive. Without it, you will most likely die. You have probably never consciously accessed that ressolve, however, and you can work against it by convincing yourself that you can’t win!
Be sure that you set your mind to ‘win’ mode. You can survive. You can win. You can do it. Other people do, and so can you. Don’t try to limit your mind for being assertive.
The will to survive is your first weapon in the fight against wind, cold, wet and heat. The struggle is with yourself. You have to battle against your physical condition, your lack of knowledge, the equipment you have or can find or manufacture and your psychological approach. This latter is greatly enhanced by a sense of humour.
Never give up
You have to win! You must survive! Life is something worth in to fight! Think of your beloved, never let anything get the better of you.
Rewrite from The Survival Manual (Ken Griffiths)
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Survival
