One of the seeds for the survival common sense concept came from the Deschutes County Sheriffs Office Search and Rescue. Deschutes County, Oregon, has one of the most active SARs in the country. I heard this story after asking how well visitors are prepared for the backcountry!
By Leon Pantenburg
Don’t underestimate Mother Nature! The weather can change dramatically, for the worse, in a very short time.
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The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue volunteers were dog tired after three days of searching for missing backpacker Danny Curran, who had disappeared in The Cascade Mountains in November 2001. (Mr. Curran’s remains were found on July 31, 2002). They regrouped in a trailhead parking lot to plan the next move. Snow started to spatter as a group of hikers headed out for the mountains. The searchers stared in disbelief.
“The hikers were lightly dressed and wearing shorts and flip-flops,” said Sgt. Marvin Combs, of Deschutes County SAR. “We figured they would probably be our next mission.”
Every year, unprepared wilderness visitors make mistakes that put them into danger and the news, Combs said, but there are countless other close calls where people are lucky. The misfortunes seem to follow some fairly predictable patterns.
“What scares us most are the near misses you don’t hear about,” Combs said. “People are embarrassed to tell about a close call they had.”
Psychological responses to emergencies follow a pattern, according to John Leach of the University of Lancaster, England, and the author of “Survival Psychology.”
Leach’s studies show that only 10 to 15 percent of any group involved in any emergency will react appropriately. Another 10 to 15 percent will behave totally inappropriately and the remaining 70 to 80 percent will need to be told what to do. The most common reactions at the onset of an emergency are disbelief and denial.
People don’t prepare for emergencies, Leach writes, for three reasons: Planning is inconvenient, preparations may be costly and an ingrained folk myth says to prepare for a disaster is to encourage it.
These unrealistic mind-sets are the basis for many wilderness tragedies, claims survival expert Peter Kummerfeldt, and he sees denial as the underlying cause.
“We deny we will ever be in an emergency. Then, we deny that the emergency is happening, and then, we deny that it ever happened,” Kummerfeldt said. “The usual progression is that a person thinks: ‘This isn’t happening to me,’ then, ‘It’s not that bad,’ then, ‘If it is that bad, there’s nothing I can do about it.’”
To deal with reality, he adds, you must first treat the situation as being real and admit it is happening to you.
So, mentally and emotionally, what is the best course of action to develop a survival mindset? The first thing to do, according to Kummerfeldt, is realize you’re in trouble.
“Ask yourself: ‘Am I OK?’” Kummerfeldt said. “If I am, what do I have to do to stay that way? If I’m not, what do I have to do?”
Mental conditioning is hard to define, says Deschutes County SAR veteran Al Hornish. Many people are afraid of the dark, he said, and impending darkness adds to the stress of being lost.
“People will just keep going because they don’t want to be out in the wilderness after night falls,” Hornish said. “This can cause them to make more mistakes.”
In one instance, he added, a lost hiker kept walking through the night.
“We asked why he didn’t just stop and wait until it got light,” Hornish said. “The man said: ‘I heard wild animals in the woods all night long.’”
Individual reactions to disasters tend to follow a pattern. Once you understand what is happening to you mentally, then you can take positive actions. This is “survival state of mind”.
Here’s the typical disaster reaction progression, according to “Survival Psychology”:
Denial: The first reaction will probably be: “This can’t be happening to me!” But an emergency, disaster, accident or crash can happen to anyone, and it can result in a situation where your life is at risk.
Panic: Once you get past denial, there is a strong chance you may panic. This is when judgment and reasoning deteriorate to the point where it can result in self-destructive behavior. It can happen to anyone.
Hypoactivity, defined as a depressed reaction; or hyperactivity, an intense but undirected liveliness: The depressed person will not look after himself or herself, and will probably need to be told what to do. The hyperactive response can be more dangerous because the affected person may give a misleading impression of purposefulness and leadership.
Stereotypical behavior: This is a form of denial in which victims fall back on learned behavior patterns, no matter how inappropriate they are. The Boss may decide to continue in that role, even though he/she has no idea of what to do. Sadly, the underling may also revert to that subordinate role, even though he/she may be better prepared mentally.
Anger: A universal reaction, anger is irrational. Rescue workers frequently come under verbal and physical attack while performing their duties.
Psychological breakdown: This could be the most desperate problem facing a victim, and this stage is characterized by irritability, lack of interest, apprehension, psycho-motor retardation and confusion. Once this point is reached, the ultimate consequence may be death.
So, the key to a “survival state-of-mind” is to be prepared and confident that you can handle any emergency.
STOP: Stop Think. Observe. Plan. Use common sense to stay warm, hydrated, nourished and sheltered. Administer first aid when it’s a priority, and don’t follow the leader who may be hyperactive and claiming to be “in charge”.
Only you can be in charge of your and your family’s survival. And, when you are prepared, you will be.
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Be Prepared!