The 10 Most Important Survival Skills You Need to Know

Introduction 

Physical survival is defined as the physical ability allowing for endurance through something that can be considered as life-threatening. Building physical fitness and strength to boost overall survival possibility is essential, as it seeks to ensure that one can achieve the best possible outcomes in a scenario that requires physical survival. Generally, physical survival is considered as having a wide array of benefits on the body, especially in areas such as building one’s endurance when faced with scenarios that require overall use of physical strength. On the other hand, it has also been argued that physical survival often has adverse effects on the persons involved, as it creates a situation where it becomes hard for individuals to lead positive lives. One of the critical questions that have been raised on the subject of physical survival is are psychological effects associated with such cases of survival. The focus of this paper is to argue from the perspective that physical endurance contributes to a wide array of psychological outcomes.

Psychological Effects of Physical Survival 

Hamer, de Oliveira, & Demakakos (2014) indicate that the success of physical survival does not only relate to physical strength, which accounts for 10% but also accounts for mental strength, as it accounts for 90% of the total ability for one to achieve best possible outcomes. On the question of the psychological effects associated with physical survival, what is clear is that survival often contributes to mental stress, which is seen as a response towards dealing with the challenging scenarios being experienced. Continued exposure to psychological stress may have negative expectations in defining success in physical survival, as it may result in both mental and physical freeze-ups.

The continued release of the stress hormone, as a result of exposure to the need for physical survival depending on the different scenarios causing stress, creates a situation where one is much more likely to experience both physical and mental exhaustion (Vetter & Symonds, 2010). The fatigue creates a challenge for individuals to achieve the intended objective, which is to maximize both physical and mental strength in a bid to surviving physically. That means that it becomes hard for an individual to respond in a manner that is reflective of what is expected of him or her while in an environment that would require physical survival skills. Consequently, that can be described as a situation that contributes to the occurrence of mental and physical freeze-ups when it is expected that one would be engaged in a process through which to conserve energy.

Physical survival may also contribute to exposure to chronic health issues that include high blood pressure, among others. Physical endurance is often associated with enhanced survival when faced with dangerous circumstances, which triggers the release of both adrenaline and cortisol. These two hormones are released in what can be described as the fight-or-flight situation whereby one's body experiences a boost in energy to help improve both cognitive and physical skills. However, it is equally important to take note of the fact that the release of these two hormones boosts one's blood pressure significantly, with the intention being towards ensuring that the oxygen supply to the brain is maximized. In such cases, it is clear that the demand for physical survival is much more likely to expose individuals to risk factors contributing to the overall possibility of high blood pressure.

On the other hand, it is essential to point out that prolonged exposure to cortisol, which is one of the hormones released into the body, is likely to promote the risk of depression. Mayer, Lopez-Duran, Sen, & Abelson (2018) indicate that persons suffering from depression often experience a reduced level of serotonin within the brain, while the cortisol is significantly elevated. Additionally, this may also contribute to anxiety disorders, as cortisol is considered as one of the notable risk factors for such diseases. It is from this perspective that one may argue that depression is likely to arise as one of the psychological effects associated with physical survival. Although physical endurance ought to viewed from a positive point of view, it must also be evaluated from the perspective of the adverse psychological effects that it is having. That will help towards ensuring that indeed, persons that have endured severe physical scenarios, which require them to adopt physical survival skills, are evaluated psychologically to determine their risk of exposure to some of these effects.

Conclusion 

Physical survival can be defined as the actual process through which individuals are able to survive different scenarios that call for physical stress. However, it can be argued that physical survival is not all about physical strength, as this accounts for only 10% of the success factors, but also reflects on mental toughness, which accounts for 90% of the overall success possibility. However, it is equally important to take note of the fact that physical survival exposes individuals to notable psychological effects. Some of the vital psychological effects noted, from the discussion, including psychological stress, physical and mental exhaustion, chronic health issues that include high blood pressure, and risk of depression and anxiety disorders.

References

Hamer, M., de Oliveira, C., & Demakakos, P. (2014). Non-exercise physical activity and survival: English longitudinal study of aging. American journal of preventive medicine ,  47 (4), 452-460.

Mayer, S. E., Lopez-Duran, N. L., Sen, S., & Abelson, J. L. (2018). Chronic stress, hair cortisol, and depression: A prospective and longitudinal study of medical internship. Psychoneuroendocrinology ,  92 , 57-65.

Vetter, R. E., & Symonds, M. L. (2010). Correlations between injury, training intensity, and physical and mental exhaustion among college athletes.  The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research ,  24 (3), 587-596.