THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SURVIVAL-PREPARING YOURSELF

Your mission in a disaster/survival situation is to stay alive--to SURVIVE. As you can see, in order to play Canada's true national game, you are going to experience an assortment of thoughts and emotions. These can work for you, or they can work to your downfall and defeat. Gear, anxiety, anger, frustration, and loneliness are all possible reactions to the many stresses common to survival. These reactions, when controlled in a healthy way, help to increase the likelihood of surviving.. They prompt one to pay more attention in training, to fight back when scared, to take actions that ensure sustenance and security to strive against large odds and to keep faith. When the survivor can't control these reactions in a healthy way, they can bring him to a standstill. Instead of rallying his internal resources, the survivor listens to his internal fears. He experiences psychological defeat long before he physically succumbs. Remember, survival is a natural way of life to all Canadians; being unexpectedly thrust into the life and death struggle of survival is not. Don't be afraid of your natural reactions to this unnatural situation. Prepare yourself to rule over these reactions, so they serve your ultimate interest--staying alive with honour and dignity.It involves preparation to ensure that your reactions in a survival setting are productive, not destructive.

The challenge of survival has produced countless examples of courage, heroism, and self sacrifice.