When we are faced with insurmountable emergency situations, 90% of us freeze. Freezing is a deep survival strategy that is in the unconscious system, and under some circumstances can help us live when we might otherwise die. Here's what happens:
We hold our breath
Our eyes open wide
and our muscles lock
we literally become the "Borg" waiting for new instructions. What should we do? We will follow someone else's plan at this point if they should come up with one. "Let's all run and jump off that cliff"... and in unision we say "Ok!" and run.
In the apocalyptic movie "The Day After Tomorrow" when New York is yet again destroyed, the young man, armed with logic and his father's up to date information, says 'stay here' and the Police Officer, eyes open wide, says "Let's get outta here" and they follow him.
I mean come on-who would you listen to? A young teen, or a big strong Police Man with a flashlight?
Logical? No. Emotional. Yes. Reactionary? Yes. Deadly. Oh yea.
The part of our brain that makes decisions, especially decisions of life and death proportions, is no longer on line and we have no way of accessing it as long as we are frozen or in zombie land. Many people are found dead in wilderness situations that had things in their gear that would have helped them.
The brain wiring of a survivor may be different, or it may be the heart of a survivor. They have to stay awake, alert and attentive. They have to breathe. They have to begin immediately to access the situation and access what they have at their fingertips to help them. They spend little or no time feeling sorry for themselves, and they absolutely know they cannot allow themselves to give in to fear. Fear, or the adrenalin rush of fear, must be used to mobilize instead of immobilize because fear is a runaway train with no driver. Fear will cause you to jump the tracks and crash. Fear, unleashed, will cause us to destroy ourselves. Get angry. That's better than afraid. We need our anger, and there are times to summon it's power.
If you find yourself in a survival / emergency situation:
1. The most important and simplest thing to do to keep yourself thinking clearly, is to take deep, long, even breaths and keep breathing. Your brain is incredibly sensitive to changes in oxygen levels.
2. Pray. Sing. Count. Any rhythmic patterning will calm and center the brain and organize the brainwave patterns into cohesion.
3. Laugh. Yep. Find that dark humor hidden inside, and make a joke about the situation. When you can, you know you'll live. It's the oddest thing about us, but there you go. If you can laugh in the face of death, then it can't claim you. It's like finding the name of "Rumplestilsken".
When I was in a dire situation, on a mountain in Peru, doing a near vertical descent without adequate equipment, under a new moon, without flashlight, out of food and water, having my contacts blurred over and my hip joint lock due to the extreme pressure of the descent, I couldn't help but see the incredible stupidity of the situation and that I could well die. I began to joke about it, and then I couldn't seem to stop laughing. Was it hysteria? No. Well maybe. But! Laughing brings more oxygen in, and it chemically shifts the brain. It's one of the best and fastest ways to ease stress and chemically change brain function.
4. Chunk things down. I counted steps. In Qetchua. This focused my brain on something that was manageable and that I could be successful at immediately, and small successes are important.
5. Figure out options, supplies, and immediately start finding solutions. Mobilize your mental equipment so it's working for you instead of against you.
6. Raise your head up and look around and realize that you are in a spectacular moment that will never be the same. Plan your book about the adventure. Who is going to play your part?
Another terrifying moment, on a different mountain in Peru, my not-so-sure footed mountain pony began to slide down a shale incline towards the 1000's foot precipice that was now inches away, I sat up straight and said "I'm ready for my close up Mr. DeMille". I was simply on a set in an action adventure and I had read the script. The star does not die like this! The unnamed supporting actress maybe, but not the star!
And my friends, when you can do that, you know you will live. The Zen monk that is able to be completely in that moment, with no concern for the next, knows freedom from the drama. Free yourself and you will move beyond the hypnotic lock the situation seems to have over you. And you are also telling your neurology that this is just a moment that will end and you can see a future beyond it.