Found a good "Psychology & Survival" link? Let Us Know!
"Adaptability is not imitation. It means power of resistance and assimilation."
- Mahatma Gandhi
The Titanic Syndrome - Comments on our shifts of mood when disaster strikes.
Psychology of Survival [FM21-76c2] 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 people with survival training have not used their skills and died. A key ingredient in any survival situation is the mental attitude of the individual(s) involved. Having survival skills is important; having the will to survive is essential. Without a desk to survive, acquired skills serve little purpose and
invaluable knowledge goes to waste. Also available
HERE
and HERE
and HERE
and HERE
and HERE or download the PDF File
The
Attitude of Survival - A brief guide
to the mental side of dealing with unexpected survival situations.
Positive
Psychology of POW Survival In recent years, American military leaders
have realized that mental readiness is just as important as physical training.
They also want to prepare their soldiers psychologically so that they are more
likely to survive when captured by the enemy.
The
Seven Components of Self-defense Building Blocks of an Effective
Personal Safety Strategy by Randy LaHaie: The study
of self-defense cannot be easily defined with quick, easy, and over simplistic
solutions. Acquiring a legitimate sense of control over your personal safety
requires knowledge and skills in seven key components. Neglect any of them, and
you do not have a complete and effective safety strategy.
SURVIVAL
PSYCHOLOGY AND DISASTERS (Scroll down for ARTICLE) Why
do some people seem to bounce back from disaster situations with less stress and
more positive energy than others? What characteristics differentiate these
groups? Do post-disaster interventions make a difference in resilience and
adaptability? Does previous experience with disasters, adversity and/or crisis
situations make a difference in survivability and resilience? These and other
related questions and the responses to them can assist mental health and other
disaster professionals and first responders in more adequately planning how to
respond more effectively to such events.
Aron
Ralston - Between a Rock and the Hardest Place "Survivors
rapidly read reality," says Siebert. "When something horrible happens,
they immediately accept the situation for what it is and consciously decide that
they will do everything in their power to get through it." That is, they
have the ability to rationally accept dreadful circumstances without becoming
angry or passive, two common responses to extreme stress.
Surviving
an off Airport Landing by Rick Russon:
A study in survival psychology shows that, in an emergency situation, 10-15% of
people will react appropriately, 75% have to be told what to do, and 10-15% will
react totally inappropriately.
Surviving
Sudden Loss The death of a loved one
is painful enough but when death is sudden and combined with the loss of home,
community and security, as during a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina, it
doubles our pain and intensifies the grief. Mourning and recovery are more
difficult for surviving family members, regardless of their age. Many survivors
will be in denial of the tragedy, some for a very long time.
Dealing
with Stress It’s normal to have
difficulty managing your feelings after major tragedies. Because everyone
experiences stress differently, don’t compare yourself with others around you
or judge other people’s reactions and emotions.
Helping
Children Cope Children respond
differently to disaster, depending on their understanding and maturity, but
it’s easy to see how an event like Hurricane Katrina could leave a child
feeling a good deal of anxiety. Kids who lived in the track of the hurricane
felt firsthand the threat of danger to themselves and those they care about. Now
that the danger has passed, it’s important to comfort your children and
reassure them that they’re safe. It’s also important to be open and honest
with them in discussing unseen consequences of the hurricane for your family.
Blueprint
for Responding to Public Mental Health Needs in Times of Crisis
The shocking events of September 11, 2001 served as a “wake-up call” to the
nation, driving home how vulnerable all of its citizens are to unforeseen and
unheralded disasters. As a result, we have learned a hard lesson: State and
local mental health systems are largely unprepared to respond effectively to
events that traumatize communities.
Coping
With Disaster &
Enfrentando
El Desastre (Spanish
version of Coping With Disaster) Coping
With Disaster is a guidebook to psychosocial intervention. It is aimed at mental
health workers and at others, such as health care workers, teachers, and
religious leaders who wish to assist survivors of a disaster. Both of the
manuals are PDF format.
Messages
for helping children during a time of crisis
Children look to adults for reassurance and guidance on how to react. What
adults say and do can help distance children from the sense of threat, help them
work through their emotions, and maintain or regain a sense of normalcy....
Emotional
damage from natural disasters can add to stress levels long after the crisis is
over The emotional damage of
droughts, floods and other natural disasters can be felt long after the
immediate crisis is over, according to a licensed clinical social worker at the
University of Missouri. Families should watch the signs of stress and
depression, and get help if needed...
Coping
With Catastrophe | THIS OLD HOUSE From burglaries to fires to trees falling on your house, how to handle five
common household nightmares.
Family
Matters: Coping With Catastrophe Face realities and begin doing
something about them. One widow cried "Why me?" the day a natural
disaster took the life of her husband and father of five children. Ultimately
she had to conclude, "But it is me. So, what an I going to do about
it?" She determined to get busy and do something about her situation. Doing
nothing only makes things worse.
Coping
With Catastrophe No place on Earth is perfectly safe. Often there's no
way to know where and when natural disasters will occur, and no way to prevent
them. But, around the world, millions of people live in danger zones. From Asian
island dwellers who live in the shadows of active volcanoes, to Californians
perched on top of earthquake-prone faults, to Caribbean fishermen moored to
coastlines regularly ravaged by deadly storms, millions of people seem to invite
catastrophe.
"Stress" Chapter 21 from the NOLS Wilderness Med. Book - Contains vital info on
psychology of survival for both the rescuer and survivor. Includes recognition,
reactions, treatment & management. Must read for any group leader!!
Post
Disaster Stress Management (Report following
Hurricane Keith in Belize, SA) The objectives were: To provide effective
counseling for individuals affected directly or indirectly by a disaster in
order to prevent or alleviate any psychological problems; To be psychologically
equipped to cope in the healthiest way possible; To conduct an assessment of the
mental health needs of post-disaster survivors.
Insights
Into The Concept Of Stress The repeated
exposure of emergency response personnel to disaster situations have a
potentially deleterious effect on their psychological well-being, what can
greatly affect the overall outcome of such situations, including the prognosis
of the primary victims of the event. This workbook and its companion, Stress
Management in Disasters, were designed to provide the basic training material
for persons who will be providing such a service.
Stress
Management In Disasters Along
with its companion workbook, Insights into the Concept of Stress, this book was
designed to provide the basic training material for persons who will be
providing assistance in disaster situations, because they are themselves
repeatedly exposed to very stressful situations.
Disaster
Psychiatry: Principles and Practice. [Citation
not given, but similar to "Psychiatric dimensions of disaster: patient
care, community consultation, and preventive medicine, originally published in
the Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 1995, 3(4), 196-209.] Robert Ursano and
colleagues discuss the role of psychiatrists in disasters including
identifying disaster responses. This article summarizes psychological and
physiological responses to disasters, and compares Acute Stress Disorder
(ASD) and PTSD with various other disorders related to disaster. The authors
discuss disaster responses in adults, children, and communities. They then
describe the importance of identifying high-risk groups in the stricken
community, early / subsequent interventions, and ways to get involved in
disaster psychiatry.
Post-traumatic
Therapy. Originally
appeared in Psychotherapy, 28 (1), 5-15. [Spring 1991] Republished first
in Wilson & Raphael's (1993) International Handbook of Traumatic Stress
Syndromes and later in Everly & Lating's (1995) Psychotraumatology.
This clinical article gives a detailed description of Frank Ochberg's approach
towards therapy with trauma patients, and should be helpful to any clinicians
working with this population. Individual sections discuss fundamental principles
and techniques of posttraumatic therapy, including: education, discussing
psychobiology, promoting holistic health, and psychotherapy. Two Appendices list
proposed diagnostic criteria and symptoms for victimization disorder as a
subcategory of traumatic stress.
Introduction
to Survival Strategies. This
is a version of an important chapter from Valent's 1998 book, From Survival
to Fulfillment: A framework for the life-trauma dialectic, published in
Philadelphia by Bruner/Mazel. Paul Valent describes eight survival strategies in
response to trauma -- "stress responses which include specific adaptive and
maladaptive, biological, psychological and social constituents". Valent's
survival strategies evolved as discrete phylogenetic templates to aid survival
following specific stressors. Together, survival strategies offer a framework
for categorizing classes of traumatic responses and events beyond PTSD's typical
fight or flight responses. When trauma responses are unsuccessful, this
framework may also help clarify differences important in treatment.
Questions
to Help Children Talk About a Disaster
provides examples of "open-ended" questions to encourage children to
talk about their feelings and experiences following a disaster.
When
Talking Doesn't Help: Other Ways to Help Children Express Their Feelings
Following a Disaster provides ideas for
helping children express themselves in ways other than talking to help them
through the recovery process following a disaster.
The
Role of Culture in Helping Children Recover from a Disaster
offers words of advice and guidance for teachers helping children from diverse
cultural and ethnic backgrounds through the recovery process following a
disaster.
How
To Help Children After a Disaster
offers tips to parents on how to talk to children about the terrorist events.
After
a Disaster: What Teens Can Do provides
information for teens to help understand some of their reactions as well as
others, to the terrorist events. Suggestions are also provided to help ease the
unfamiliar feelings related to the event.
After
a Disaster: A guide for Parents and Teachers
explains how preschool age, early childhood, and adolescent children may respond
to the terrorist events. The link is intended for parents and teachers to be
informed, recognize problems, and respond appropriately to the needs of
children.
A
Guide for Older Adults provides suggestions
for older adults attempting to understand the recent terrorist events.
Mental
Health Aspects of Terrorism describes typical
reactions to terrorist events and provides suggestions for coping and helping
others.
Disaster
Counseling provides suggestions for disaster
counselors on establishing rapport and active listening.
Self-Care
Tips for Dealing with Stress covers things to
remember when trying to understand disaster events, signs that adults need
stress management assistance, and ways to ease stress.
How
to Deal With Grief
Age-specific
Interventions at Home for Children in Trauma: From Preschool to Adolescence
suggests activities arranged by age group to help children share recovery
feelings and experiences at home. Includes activities for preschoolers,
elementary age children, and pre-adolescents and adolescents.
The
Long-term Impact of a Traumatic Event: What to Expect in Your Personal, Family,
Work, and Financial Life cites examples of
personal uncertainties, family relationship changes, work disruptions, and
financial worries that may contribute to the long-term impact of a traumatic
event. Also includes tips on how to survive the road to recovery from a
traumatic event.
Anniversary
Reactions to a Traumatic Event: The Recovery Process Continues
describes common anniversary reactions among victims of traumatic events and
explains how these reactions can be a significant part of the recovery process.
DISASTER
RESPONSE AND RECOVERY: A HANDBOOK FOR MENTAL
HEALTH PROFESSIONALS by Diane Myers, R.N., M.S.N. Monterey, California
FEMA
FOR KIDS: RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS -- How to Talk to Children about the Threat of
Biological Warfare or Terrorist Attack While
FEMA advocates discussing the threat of natural disaster with children, and
emphasizing what actions they should take to protect themselves - getting under
heavy furniture in the event of an earthquake, for example - it is often much
more difficult to talk about the threat of biological warfare or terrorist
attack. The following information is provided by Dr. Lennis G. Echterling; from
the Department of Psychology at James Madison University, in Virginia.
Stress and the war on terrorism War-related emotional stress can be as debilitating as chronic illness, but it can get
better over time.
Feeling secure in an uncertain world Some events are out of your control, but
you can restore a sense of security by actively bringing order to your
life.
Coping with uncertainty: A 4-step plan Use this four-step approach to plan your
positive response to uncertainty and fear about safety.
After
a loss or tragedy: Coping with the reminders When you've lost a loved
one, reminders are everywhere, from anniversaries to special songs and places.
Here's how to find new meaning in them.
Post-traumatic stress disorder Experiencing a traumatic event
may trigger anxiety and recurrent memories of the event. But medications and
behavior therapies can ease symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Depression Learn the signs and symptoms, causes, treatments and other important facts about
depression.
Coping
with grief: Editor’s note No quick fixes. No
short cuts. Just suggestions for making the grieving process less bumpy.
10
tips for better sleep Stress. Noise. Fear of
the unknown. Many things in our society interfere with the sleep that we so
desperately need.
Helping
kids through crisis situations Natural
disasters. Threats of war. Senseless acts of terrorism. Life's full of
tragedies. Here, a Mayo Clinic pediatrician gives advice on how to help kids
deal with crisis situations.
Exercise
Helps Keep Your Psyche Fit --
Research shows exercise to be a viable, cost-effective treatment for depression
and may help in the treatment of other mental disorders.
Stress
Management Stress is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience
as we adjust to our continually changing environment; it has physical and
emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings. As a
positive influence, stress can help compel us to action; it can result in a new
awareness and an exciting new perspective. As a negative influence, it can
result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression, which in turn
can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia,
ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. With the death of a
loved one, the birth of a child, a job promotion, or a new relationship, we
experience stress as we readjust our lives. In so adjusting to different
circumstances, stress will help or hinder us depending on how we react to it.
Stress
Pamplet -- By David Baldwin, PhD.,
includes hints on dealing with others who are stressed out.
Rodney
And Cathy's Joke List -- Sign up.
It's free. Most jokes are of the clean variety. "G" or "PG,"
but the occasional "R" rated joke restricts subscriptions to adults
only. Get some laughs and share with your friends. Good jokes -- even bad jokes
-- from good friends have helped lighten many a tough time.
Jokes-For-All.Com
-- Ultimate Jokes Directory. One of the biggest and most comprehensive
jokes sites. They are sorted into categories, so you can easily fill the most
pressing of humor needs.
Managing
Traumatic Stress: Tips for Recovering from Disasters and Other Traumatic Events
Resilience
and Disease Outbreaks
Resilience
in a Time of War
Stress:
When and How to Get Help
The
Road To Resilience
Fostering
Resilience in Response to Terrorism
Tapping
Your Resilience in the Wake of Terrorism: Pointers for Practitioners
A
Guide to Children's Grief (from PBS)
FEMA
Resources for Parents and Kids
What
to Tell Children about Terrorist Bombings
Facts
for Families: Helping Children After a Disaster
Children's
Reaction to Disaster
Red
Cross Disaster Services
Child
Survivor of Traumatic Stress
American Academy
of Child & Adolescent and Psychology
National
Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PSYCHOLOGY of Survival
A
look at Stress
Need
for Stress
Survival
Stressors
NATURAL
REACTIONS
Preparing
Yourself
Tips
on dealing with stress in a survival situation
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