The will to survive: the mindset that keeps you going

Stress narrows the view. In an emergency problems seem huge and the mind jumps between worries. The feeling of being unable to do anything increases fear and can lead to paralysis or hopelessness. Anyone who instead does something concrete and succeeds experiences control – and this feeling gives strength for the next step.

Experts call this self-efficacy: the conviction that you can make a difference through your own actions. Together with hope it is one of the factors that help people in crises. Small goals are the easiest way there, because they can be reached quickly and every success becomes visible.

The words we say to ourselves also have an effect. Insulting yourself adds pressure. Talking to yourself kindly and factually calms you down and helps you think more clearly. Using your own name creates some distance – almost as if a good friend were encouraging you.

Accepting is the beginning. As long as you fight the situation inwardly (“This cannot be, I will find the path in a moment”), you lose time and often do the wrong thing. Accepting does not mean giving up but taking the situation as a starting point. After that a fixed order helps: first acute dangers and injuries, then protection from cold, wet or heat, then water and signals, food last.

The goals should be really small and concrete, with a visible end: “ground layer finished”, “wood until dusk”, “hang up the signal panel”. Writing them down and ticking them off makes successes tangible. Reasons to hold on work best when they are concrete – a particular person, a pet, a trip, a meal you are looking forward to.

Before you doubt yourself, check your body: cold, thirst, hunger and exhaustion weigh heavily on mood. A dry layer, a few sips of water or an hour of rest often help more than any good intention.

The will to survive is not the same as “grit your teeth and push through”. Forcing yourself to walk on when exhausted risks falls, injuries and hypothermia. Very often the strongest decision is to stay, rest, keep warm and let yourself be found. Courage also shows in accepting your own limits.

Hopelessness, severe tiredness and confusion can have physical causes, above all hypothermia, dehydration and exhaustion. Then first warmth, drinking and rest – and use every opportunity for an emergency call. On 112 you reach the emergency services in the EU, in Austria also the ambulance on 144 and mountain rescue on 140.

The mindset helps in any longer emergency: waiting for rescue, after an injury, in sudden bad weather, with exhaustion. It is also valuable when the situation is not life-threatening at all but feels that way – for example on the first night after getting lost. And it can be practised well in everyday life, with small annoyances and setbacks.

But it never replaces practical action. No thought warms as well as a dry jacket, and no confidence replaces the emergency call. The mindset is what gets you to do the right things – not what makes them unnecessary.

The US Army survival manual devotes a whole chapter to the psychology of survival and describes the will to survive as decisive. Its SURVIVAL mnemonic includes “Value living”. Accounts by people who have come through long emergencies are often similar: they accepted the situation early, gave themselves tasks and thought of people they wanted to get back to.

The WHO booklet “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress” describes simple exercises for turning back to what matters to you despite difficult feelings. Such exercises can be learned before a trip – then they are familiar in an emergency.