In the first minutes and hours of a natural or man-made survival situation the one thing that will defeat you faster than anything else is FEAR. Fear of the unknown, fear for your safety, fear of others, fear of not knowing what tomorrow holds for you and your loved ones. FEAR, whether founded on fact or in your own minds creation, will bring you down faster than any thing else.
FEAR is debilitating. It will stop you from taking actions that could save you. It will turn you into a helpless mass of bone and muscle, fearful of any sound or shadow. It will defeat any and all preparations and planning you might have done. It will keep you from taking simple actions that could make a big difference in whether you live or die. It will defeat you.
FEAR, if you are with others, has to be overcome quickly. If fear is allowed to spread across a group, your loved ones, or maybe only the one other person you are with, will destroy the entire groups ability to make good decisions, take simple actions, work in concert with each other.
PRINCIPLE FOR DEALING WITH FEAR: Accept it as real and that very early on in your survival situation, where uncertainty exists as to the future, you will experience fear. You must deal with your fears realistically and quickly.
ACTIONS TO DEAL WITH FEAR: Sit down, take a few deep breaths, then stand up and get busy. If someone else in your group or family is freaking out, nip that in the bud. Get them busy. You get busy. Activity to take ones mind off real or imagined fears. Start simple survival tasks, such as inventorying what you have that you need to survive the first 24 hours.
As each hour and day comes and goes the potential for new fears is your new reality. As you learn how to deal with your own and others fears you will quickly build up simple strategies to address what causes you to hesitate.
One other action that will be critical. Use your common sense and the skills you have learned and practiced to avoid future situations that could cause fear to surface again. You have the ability to overcome your fears by your thoughts and your actions. Preparing to face your fears, and to survive, is one of the most important early on things you will need to do should you find yourself in a survival situation. Don’t let real or imagined fears defeat you. Choose to Survive!
