It takes much more than the knowledge and skills to build shelters, get food, make fires, and travel without the aid of standard navigational devices to live successfully through a survival situation.

Some people with little or no survival training have managed to survive life-threatening circumstances. Some with survival training have not used their skills and perished.

A key ingredient in any survival situation is the mental attitude of the individual(s) involved — the psychology of survival. Having survival skills is important; having the will to survive is essential. Without a drive to survive, acquired skills serve little purpose and invaluable knowledge goes to waste.

The Psychology of Survival

There is a psychology to survival. Someone in a survival environment faces many stresses that ultimately impact on his mind. These stresses can produce thoughts and emotions that, if poorly understood, can transform a confident, well-trained individual into an indecisive, ineffective one with questionable ability to survive. Thus, everyone must be aware of and be able to recognize those stresses commonly associated with survival.

Additionally, it is imperative to be aware of your reactions to the wide variety of stresses associated with survival. Let’s identify and explain the nature of stress, the stresses of survival, and those internal reactions man will naturally experience when faced with a real-world survival situation. The knowledge below will prepare you to come through the toughest times alive.

Man screaming in the woods

Understanding Stress in a Survival Situation

Before we can understand our psychological reactions in a survival setting, it is helpful to first know a little about stress.

Stress is not a disease that you cure and eliminate. Instead, it is a condition we all experience. Stress can be described as our reaction to pressure. It is the name given to the experience we have as we physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually respond to life’s tensions.

The Need for Stress

We need stress because it has many positive benefits. Stress provides us with challenges; it gives us chances to learn about our values and strengths. Stress can show our ability to handle pressure without breaking; it tests our adaptability and flexibility; it can stimulate us to do our best. Because we usually do not consider unimportant events stressful, stress can also be an excellent indicator of the significance we attach to an event — in other words, it highlights what effects and matters to us most.

We need some stress in our lives, but too much of anything can be bad. The goal is to have stress, but not an excess of it. Too much stress can take its toll on people and organizations. Too much stress leads to distress. Distress causes an uncomfortable tension that we try to escape and, preferably, avoid.

Here are a few of the common signs of distress you may find in your companions or yourself when faced with too much stress in a survival situation:

  • Difficulty making decisions
  • Angry outbursts
  • Forgetfulness
  • Low energy level
  • Constant worrying
  • Propensity for mistakes
  • Thoughts about death or suicide
  • Trouble getting along with others
  • Withdrawing from others
  • Hiding from responsibilities
  • Carelessness

Clearly, stress can be constructive or destructive. It can encourage or discourage, move us along or stop us dead in our tracks, and make life meaningful or seemingly meaningless. Stress can inspire you to operate successfully and perform at your maximum efficiency in a survival situation. It can also cause you to panic and forget all your training.

Key to your survival is the ability to manage the inevitable stresses you will encounter. The survivor is the one who works with his stresses instead of letting his stresses work on him.

Stern/serious Man (closeup)

Survival Stressors

Any event can lead to stress and, as everyone has experienced, events don’t always come one at a time. Often, stressful events occur simultaneously. These events are not stress, but they produce it and are called “stressors.”


In response to a stressor, the body prepares either to “fight or flee.” This preparation involves an internal SOS sent throughout the body and, as the body responds, several actions take place.

The body releases stored fuels (sugar and fats) to provide quick energy; breathing rate increases to supply more oxygen to the blood; muscle tension increases to prepare for action; blood clotting mechanisms are activated to reduce bleeding from cuts; senses become more acute (hearing becomes more sensitive, eyes become big, smell becomes sharper) so that you are more aware of your surrounding and heart rate and blood pressure rise to provide more blood to the muscles. Particularly in a survival situation, this all lets a person cope with potential dangers. However, a person cannot maintain such a level of alertness indefinitely.

Stressors are not courteous; one stressor does not leave because another one arrives. Stressors add up. The cumulative effect of minor stressors can be a major distress if they all happen too close together (which is, of course, typical in a survival situation).

The object is not to avoid stress, but rather to manage the stressors of survival and make them work for you.

As the body’s resistance to stress wears down and the sources of stress continue (or increase), eventually a state of exhaustion arrives. At this point, the ability to resist stress or use it in a positive way gives out and signs of distress appear.

Anticipating stressors and developing strategies to cope with them are two ingredients in the effective management of stress. It is therefore essential that the anyone in a survival setting be aware of the types of stressors he will encounter.

Let’s take a look at a few of these.

Injury, Illness, or Death

Injury, illness, and death are real possibilities a survivor must face. Perhaps nothing is more stressful than being alone in an unfamiliar environment where you could die from hostile action, an accident, or from eating something lethal. Illness and injury can also add to stress by limiting your ability to maneuver, get food and drink, find shelter, and defend yourself.

Even if illness and injury don’t lead to death, they add to stress through the pain and discomfort they generate. It is only by controlling the stress associated with the vulnerability to injury, illness, and death that you can summon the courage to take the risks associated with survival tasks.


Uncertainly and Lack of Control

Some people have trouble operating in settings where everything is not clear-cut. The only guarantee in a survival situation is that nothing is guaranteed. It can be extremely stressful operating on limited information in a setting where you have minimal control of your surroundings. This uncertainty and lack of control also add to the stress of being ill, injured, or killed.


Even under ideal circumstances, nature is quite formidable. In survival, you will have to contend with the stressors of weather, terrain, and the variety of creatures inhabiting an area. Heat, cold, rain, winds, mountains, swamps, deserts, insects, dangerous reptiles, and other animals are just a few of the challenges awaiting the soldier working to survive. Depending on how you handle the stress of your environment, your surroundings can be either a source of food and protection or can be a cause of extreme discomfort leading to injury, illness, or death.

Hunger and Thirst

Without food and water, a person will weaken and eventually die. Thus, getting and preserving food and water takes on increasing importance as the length of time in a survival setting increases. For anyone used to having their daily provisions (food from the refrigerator, water from a reliable tap, etc.) provided, foraging can be a big source of stress.


Forcing yourself to continue surviving is not easy as you grow more tired. It is possible to become so fatigued that the act of just staying awake is stressful in itself.


There are some advantages to facing adversity with others. Being in contact with others provides a greater sense of security and a feeling someone is available to help if problems occur. A significant stressor in survival situations is that often a person or team has to rely solely on its own resources.

The Bottom Line

The survival stressors mentioned above are by no means the only ones you may face. Remember, what is stressful to one person may not be stressful to another. Your experiences, training, personal outlook on life, physical and mental conditioning, and level of self-confidence contribute to what you will find stressful in a survival environment.
