Will to Survive

From the U.S. Armed Forces Survival Manual,
Edited by John Boswell, published by Rawson, Wade Publishers, Inc., New York, 1980.

Track and field athletes talk of "The Bear" that haunts middle- and long-distance runners. After going some distance the runner, in a matter of a few yards, will break stride, will pull up out of the running crouch, and will perceptibly begin to slow. Overcome with pain or cramps or fatigue, he has lost the will to win.

The same phenomenon often occurs in survival situations, only the stakes are far greater than winning or losing a track event. There are reported incidents of people who have been rescued and treated for all maladies, and who have then died in the hospital. They had lost the will to live. The experiences of hundreds of servicemen isolated during W.W.II, Korea, and Vietnam combat prove that survival is largely a matter of mental outlook. The will to survive is the most important factor.

Whether you are with a group or alone, emotional problems resulting from shock, fear, despair, loneliness, and boredom will be experienced. In addition to these mental hazards, injury and pain, fatigue, hunger, or thirst tax the will to live. If you are not prepared mentally to overcome all obstacles and to expect the worst, the chances of coming out alive are greatly reduced.

Where the Mind Leads ...

Interviews with thousands of survivors of W.W.II German prison camps have demonstrated the amazing resiliency of the human body when guided by the human spirit. Our bodies are highly complex machines, yet even when subjected to the most harsh and degrading conditions, the will to live can sustain the living process. The body's demands for energy from food sources can, over a period of time, be reduced to practically zero. Survivors of German concentration camps have reported that life, even under inhuman circumstances, was worth living. In many cases, this spirit alone was credited for their survival.