THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SURVIVAL-ANGER AND FRUSTRATION

Frustration arises when a person is continually thwarted in his attempts to reach a goal, or,  loses power and control.. The goal of survival is to stay alive until you reach help, or, more likely, until help can reach you. To achieve this goal, an individual must complete some tasks with minimal resources. It is inevitable, in trying to do those tasks, that something will go wrong; that something will happen beyond the individuals power to control; and that with one's life at stake, every mistake is magnified in terms of it's importance. Thus sooner or later everyone will have to cope with frustration, when a few of their plans run into trouble. one outgrowth of this frustration is anger.There are many events in a disaster /survival that can cause anger of frustration. Getting lost, damaged or forgotten equipment, the weather, inhospitable terrain, and physical limitations are just a few sources of frustration and anger.. Many of us that have read too many pocket novels about early aboriginal, frontier or pioneer life become frustrated, when we come to realize that many of the exploits of the story book hero's are beyond the physical capabilities of human beings. Frustration and anger encourage impulsive actions, irrational behaviour, poorly thought-out decisions, and in many instances an "I quit" attitude ( people usually avoid things that they can't easily master. If we can harness and properly channel the emotional intensity associated with anger, and frustration, we can productively act as we answer the challenges of survival. If we do not properly focus our angry feelings, we can waste much energy in activities that do little to further either, our chances of survival or the chances of those around us.