How to Stay Calm in a Survival Emergency
The most useful thing you can have to survive a wilderness emergency is mental strength. Whether you’re lost in a forest or trapped somewhere alone with an injury, having a clear mind often makes the difference between making a good decision and a panic-driven mistake. It’s always useful to know a few essential strategies for staying calm in a survival emergency and understanding why your mental state can be your greatest asset.
1. Understanding the Importance of Staying Calm
The human brain has evolved to respond to danger with the “fight or flight” response, an instinctive reaction to threats that was crucial for our ancestors. In survival situations, this response can sometimes be a double-edged sword. The flood of adrenaline that comes with panic can cloud judgment, leading to impulsive decisions, which can worsen your situation. By practicing calmness, you help your body and mind remain focused, allowing you to analyze your surroundings, prioritize the best and safest actions, and save as much energy as possible.
2. Acknowledge the Situation Without assuming the worst
A critical first step in managing stress is recognizing the reality of your situation without letting negative thoughts spiral. Fear often stems from imagining the worst possible outcome, which leads to unnecessary panic. Ground yourself by focusing on the immediate and factual aspects of your situation.
Take a deep breath and try to analyze your situation. How much danger are you really in and do you have some sort of time limit to make it out? How much food and water do you have and is there a realistic chance someone might find you? Looking at these things realistically will help to stop you from worrying about the things that “might” go wrong. Accepting the reality of your situation, while refusing to dwell on the negative, helps you stay rooted in problem-solving mode.
3. Use Deep Breathing Techniques to Manage Stress
Controlled breathing techniques can calm the body’s stress response, returning your heart rate and blood pressure to normal and clearing mental fog. One effective technique to practice is box breathing, which involves four steps:
Inhale deeply through your nose for a count of four.
Hold your breath for a count of four.
Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of four.
Pause after exhaling for another count of four.
Repeat this cycle several times, allowing your body to settle. Deep breathing techniques reduce stress and help you re-engage your thinking mind rather than acting on instinct alone.
4. Reframe Your Situation with a Positive Mindset
Maintaining a positive outlook can prevent panic. Rather than seeing yourself as helpless, recognize that you have control over certain factors, no matter how small. Positive affirmations, like reminding yourself, “I have what it takes to get through this,” can offer mental strength and help you focus on action rather than despair.
A useful mental tool here is cognitive reframing. For example, instead of thinking, “I’m completely lost,” try reframing this as “I have an opportunity to apply my skills to find my way.” Focusing on what you can do rather than what you can’t changes the tone of your thinking and encourages a proactive approach.
5. Break Down Tasks with the STOP Acronym
The STOP acronym is a widely used survival tool that breaks down actions into manageable steps. Each letter represents a specific action that guides your response:
S – Stop: Don’t immediately react. Halt any hasty decisions to prevent escalating your situation and try to calm yourself down.
T – Think: Assess your resources, current status, and potential dangers. Try to remember the last time you saw something to use as a directional aid, such as hearing traffic in a certain direction or a trail you saw earlier.
O – Observe: Look around. Identify landmarks, resources, and any signs of a path. Take note of the weather and try to estimate if you have enough sunlight left to escape your situation, or if you’d be better off making a shelter for the night.
P – Plan: Based on your assessment, create a clear and achievable plan of action. Set specific goals, like “find shelter by sundown,” to keep you focused and organized.
Following the STOP method prevents rash choices and helps you establish a structured plan, reducing anxiety in the process.
6. Focus on Immediate Needs, Not Hypotheticals
A key point of survival psychology is to avoid focusing on “what if” scenarios. Dwelling on hypothetical outcomes consumes energy and adds to your stress. Concentrate instead on your immediate needs:
Shelter: Find or build a safe place to rest if you need to for protection from the elements.
Water: Locate clean drinking water to stay hydrated.
Food: Identify potential food sources if you have none with you.
Signals for Rescue: Consider whether there are ways to alert rescuers, such as creating smoke signals or finding higher ground to make yourself visible.
Staying engaged with actionable goals channels your energy into tasks that improve your situation, ensuring your safety and diverting your focus from unnecessary concerns.
7. Visualize Positive Outcomes and Remember Past Successes
Visualization is a powerful mental technique that can strengthen your resolve. Close your eyes and imagine yourself reaching a safe place, reuniting with friends or family, or seeing the help arrive. This positive visualization reminds you that there’s a way out and encourages you to keep working toward it.
Additionally, remind yourself of past challenges you’ve overcome. Recalling difficult moments in which you succeeded provides a confidence boost and a sense of resilience. This form of mental strength reinforces the belief that you’re capable of handling this current situation.
8. Engage in Small, Productive Actions
Panic often leads to people either not taking action out of fear, or making the wrong decision. Staying calm means directing your energy to small, productive steps that build toward a bigger plan. Even minor actions like organizing your supplies, finding kindling for a fire, or creating a clear path to a nearby water source can be helpful.
Each small task accomplished provides a sense of purpose and progress. This focus on productivity sustains motivation and ensures you’re moving in a positive direction.
9. Rely on Survival Skills and Trust Your Training
If you’ve practiced any survival or bushcraft skills, now is the time to use them. Skills like fire-starting, building shelters, foraging, or navigating without a compass can all contribute to your safety and comfort. Trusting these skills reassures you that you’re prepared to face the challenge. And if you have limited experience, remember the basics: find shelter, stay hydrated, and avoid exposure to extreme weather conditions as much as possible.
If you have a basic survival kit, this equipment can be a major psychological comfort. Familiarize yourself with its contents and how each item can serve a purpose in your situation.
10. Build a Mantra to Stay Focused
A mantra can be grounding in a high-stress situation. Simple phrases like “one step at a time” or “I am stronger than this moment” can be repeated when you feel panic rising. These mantras remind you that you are capable and keep your mind from spiraling into worry. Find a phrase that resonates with you and use it as a mental anchor to stay calm.
11. Take Short Mental Breaks When Possible
If you have the luxury of downtime, use it to relax your mind and reset your stress response. Simple activities like observing nature, lying down, or even stretching can provide short-term mental relief. These moments of mental respite help prevent burnout and allow you to sustain focus over a prolonged survival situation.
12. Stay Hopeful and Embrace the Power of Resilience
Finally, never underestimate the power of hope and resilience. Survival is as much a mental game as a physical one. The ability to hold on to hope, even in dire circumstances, gives you the courage to keep pushing forward. Remember, countless survival stories have shown that those who stay mentally resilient often fare better than those who succumb to fear.
