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Survival Mentality: The Psychology of Staying Alive
Have you ever wondered how you could possible survive a physical assault or imagined what you would do if someone followed you in a dark parking lot? Most likely you have - it's human nature to wonder. Most of us never get past those theoretical questions because we just don't want to think about it. But what if we did? In 'SURVIVAL MENTALITY: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF STAYING ALIVE', you'll learn how to prepare now to give yourself the very best chance of surviving a life-threatening emergency.
When we hear about someone surviving a great challenge, we often hear that the person "rose to the occasion". But in fact, psychologist find that people do not rise to the occasion. In moments of terror, people revert to their lowest level of training and preparation. Knowing that, the trick is to bring up your "lowest level" by continually improving your training and preparation, practicing for survival now, and building the resilience that will sustain you in times of adversity.
In this course, you'll learn to identify and strengthen specific psychological factors to give yourself the best possible chance of survival, no matter what type of critical incident you face. Among other elements, Professor Zarse discusses the importance of internal locus of control, identifying and acting on instincts, managing emotions, and understanding the power of your capabilities.
In 'SURVIVAL MENTALITY: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF STAYING ALIVE', you'll not only explore survival skills and strategies, but you'll also hear the stories of individuals who used those techniques to survive real-world situations. Through the details of their stories, Professor Zarse helps you identify the psychological factors that served them best.
Many of the survivors that are discussed in this course had no specific survival training, but their life experiences had helped them build significant psychological strengths. These survivors had what it took. In this course, you'll learn that you, too, can build what it takes to survive in a crisis.
RUNNING TIME ⇒ 5hrs. and 58mins.
When we hear about someone surviving a great challenge, we often hear that the person "rose to the occasion". But in fact, psychologist find that people do not rise to the occasion. In moments of terror, people revert to their lowest level of training and preparation. Knowing that, the trick is to bring up your "lowest level" by continually improving your training and preparation, practicing for survival now, and building the resilience that will sustain you in times of adversity.
In this course, you'll learn to identify and strengthen specific psychological factors to give yourself the best possible chance of survival, no matter what type of critical incident you face. Among other elements, Professor Zarse discusses the importance of internal locus of control, identifying and acting on instincts, managing emotions, and understanding the power of your capabilities.
In 'SURVIVAL MENTALITY: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF STAYING ALIVE', you'll not only explore survival skills and strategies, but you'll also hear the stories of individuals who used those techniques to survive real-world situations. Through the details of their stories, Professor Zarse helps you identify the psychological factors that served them best.
Many of the survivors that are discussed in this course had no specific survival training, but their life experiences had helped them build significant psychological strengths. These survivors had what it took. In this course, you'll learn that you, too, can build what it takes to survive in a crisis.
RUNNING TIME ⇒ 5hrs. and 58mins.
91 pages, Audible Audio
First published June 19, 2020
4 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 21, 2022
The premise of this course is something I'm utterly fascinated by. I always have been. But then a few years ago, I was involved in a violent homicide situation, and everything this speaker touches on came to light that night.
We don't rise to the occasion. We stoop to the level of our training.
Resiliency and the mental grit of the people involved in a critical incident are what determines if someone crumbles or runs into danger with a clear mind.
Having a plan ahead of time and getting left of shot, or ahead of the OODA Loop, will cause us to act immediately rather than waste precious seconds observing and orienting.
Phenomenal listen. Survival Mentality is one of the Great Courses offered by Audible. And Nancy Zarse is an engaging and knowledgeable teacher. This is beyond practical for law enforcement, health care, and the general citizen. It's real. I've watched it play out multiple times, but never more than that night.
A couple things she also stated that were interesting to me.
So often we love black and white. Laws, policies, procedures. But when we love psychology, we're someone who lives in the grey and thrives there.
A critical incident is often more significant to trauma than an expected incident. So yes, you can get trauma and PTSD from going overseas and fighting in a war zone. But a critical incident would involve, for example, sitting at your desk at work and an active shooter comes in. It's not expected. We haven't prepared for it. It's more jarring to our psyche.
I highly recommend this course. And it's relatively short.
I'd rate this a PG-13 for descriptions of many violent and traumatic situations.
We don't rise to the occasion. We stoop to the level of our training.
Resiliency and the mental grit of the people involved in a critical incident are what determines if someone crumbles or runs into danger with a clear mind.
Having a plan ahead of time and getting left of shot, or ahead of the OODA Loop, will cause us to act immediately rather than waste precious seconds observing and orienting.
Phenomenal listen. Survival Mentality is one of the Great Courses offered by Audible. And Nancy Zarse is an engaging and knowledgeable teacher. This is beyond practical for law enforcement, health care, and the general citizen. It's real. I've watched it play out multiple times, but never more than that night.
A couple things she also stated that were interesting to me.
So often we love black and white. Laws, policies, procedures. But when we love psychology, we're someone who lives in the grey and thrives there.
A critical incident is often more significant to trauma than an expected incident. So yes, you can get trauma and PTSD from going overseas and fighting in a war zone. But a critical incident would involve, for example, sitting at your desk at work and an active shooter comes in. It's not expected. We haven't prepared for it. It's more jarring to our psyche.
I highly recommend this course. And it's relatively short.
I'd rate this a PG-13 for descriptions of many violent and traumatic situations.
November 7, 2022
I'm that person who thinks in escape routes. I don't know why. I kind of always have.
This made me more aware of preparation, which is both a good and a bad thing. :)
The best takeaway of all was "We don't rise to the occasion. We stoop to the level of our training." Prepare for the situations that could happen. They are hard to think about, but the best counter to fear is knowledge.
This made me more aware of preparation, which is both a good and a bad thing. :)
The best takeaway of all was "We don't rise to the occasion. We stoop to the level of our training." Prepare for the situations that could happen. They are hard to think about, but the best counter to fear is knowledge.
November 4, 2024
I really enjoy this. We are taking through all sorts of different scenarios that go back to the basics of survival and what it takes to endure a critical situation.
It’s fascinating because it reinforces things. I’ve read in many other disciplines in different scenarios, including religion and spiritual matters. Ultimately who you are before the critical situation determines how you will handle it, including things that involve survival.
Therefore, we must practice now, prepare ourselves now, and especially how we handle adversity and how we adapt to various ups and downs in our day-to-day lives.
It’s one of those universal Truths that how you are in small things is how you are in big things including survival.
It’s fascinating because it reinforces things. I’ve read in many other disciplines in different scenarios, including religion and spiritual matters. Ultimately who you are before the critical situation determines how you will handle it, including things that involve survival.
Therefore, we must practice now, prepare ourselves now, and especially how we handle adversity and how we adapt to various ups and downs in our day-to-day lives.
It’s one of those universal Truths that how you are in small things is how you are in big things including survival.
March 14, 2022
"It was amazing." - 5 out of 5 stars.
Nancy Zarse does an incredible job of hitting everything that counts when it comes to having a survivor mentality in this Great Course on the psychology of staying alive.
She hooks the attention of listeners with powerful, emotion grabbing stories of survival. Such as firefighters, military service members, 9/11 survivors who made it down the stair well, gunshot wound victims, pilots, and so much more. The 9/11 stuff really pulled at my heart strings, especially those who had to make a choice of either burning alive in flames ... or jumping from the windows 1000+ ft.
Key Highlights:
- Mental Preparedness, mindset
- Training, muscle memory, practice drills
- Experiences matter (including books, movies, etc.)
- Trauma
- Mental Health
- Knowledge, Skills, Abilities
- OODA Loop / Situational Awareness / 'Left of Bang'
- Grit: Effort and Interest for long periods of time, regardless of set-backs or stagnation
Highly recommend this. It is also relatively short too, which I felt like Zarse delivers just the right amount of material in a concise format that hits all the necessary marks for an outstanding course.
Nancy Zarse does an incredible job of hitting everything that counts when it comes to having a survivor mentality in this Great Course on the psychology of staying alive.
She hooks the attention of listeners with powerful, emotion grabbing stories of survival. Such as firefighters, military service members, 9/11 survivors who made it down the stair well, gunshot wound victims, pilots, and so much more. The 9/11 stuff really pulled at my heart strings, especially those who had to make a choice of either burning alive in flames ... or jumping from the windows 1000+ ft.
Key Highlights:
- Mental Preparedness, mindset
- Training, muscle memory, practice drills
- Experiences matter (including books, movies, etc.)
- Trauma
- Mental Health
- Knowledge, Skills, Abilities
- OODA Loop / Situational Awareness / 'Left of Bang'
- Grit: Effort and Interest for long periods of time, regardless of set-backs or stagnation
Highly recommend this. It is also relatively short too, which I felt like Zarse delivers just the right amount of material in a concise format that hits all the necessary marks for an outstanding course.
January 31, 2021
Quite interesting. I wish a bit more was mentioned about the "ordinary" people in those life & death situations rather than the trained professionals, but I can see the authors point that preparation makes all the difference. Certainly worth a read, especially if you ever catch yourself wondering "what would I do in such a situation?" This can take you a step further.
February 20, 2023
Wow! This was inspiring.
This course focuses a lot on police and firefighting situations but also on a housewife, coming home, hearing the dog barking with her living room in disarray. She concluded that she was being robbed... right now. That was confirmed when the dog followed her out of the house and stuck with her. Normally the dog would not follow her so closely (or at all) but this time, the dog was scared and was looking to her for support. She saw the clues all around her and she listened to her gut. Indeed, there was someone there robbing her house.
The professor also mentioned a book entitled, "The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence" by Gavin de Becker. When I read the first couple of pages I thought it sounded kind of sappy, but the rest of the book was fabulous. Very helpful.
I will almost certainly listen to this audio course again.
This course focuses a lot on police and firefighting situations but also on a housewife, coming home, hearing the dog barking with her living room in disarray. She concluded that she was being robbed... right now. That was confirmed when the dog followed her out of the house and stuck with her. Normally the dog would not follow her so closely (or at all) but this time, the dog was scared and was looking to her for support. She saw the clues all around her and she listened to her gut. Indeed, there was someone there robbing her house.
The professor also mentioned a book entitled, "The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence" by Gavin de Becker. When I read the first couple of pages I thought it sounded kind of sappy, but the rest of the book was fabulous. Very helpful.
I will almost certainly listen to this audio course again.
January 1, 2025
A compilation of different essays of stories of people who were in a critical situation and survived. Example, sully sullenberg the pilot who landed the plane on the hudson and one company who were in the twin towers who only lost maybe 17 ppl instead of 1000s. Basically training yourself to be observant and to have flexibility of thought and actually training with different stimuli to be flexible and more automatic response like first responders do. Like the twin towers example, the person in charge pivoted to find a different stairwell to use instead of staying like they were instructed to do.
December 12, 2022
I wasn't sure what to expect from this and, frankly, didn't think it would be for me, but I ended up enjoying it and finding it way more interesting than I expected. Nothing revolutionary and I certainly wasn't surprised by anything said, but the presentation was interesting and I enjoyed thinking about which of these qualities my loved ones and I possess and which ones I could strengthen.
October 17, 2022
Decent, would have been three stars if not for the worshipfully uncritical stance toward authority.
July 10, 2025
The recent Israel-Iran twelve-day war put me into survival mode. Sometime by day six or seven I searched for survival in my audible.com library. I vaguely remembered I had already acquired some lectures on the topic (produced by my favorite The Great Courses). I thought it was something about surviving in the wilderness or maybe even surviving an apocalypses, but the search for survival brought only this Survival Mentality: The Psychology of Staying Alive course. Even though I felt rather skeptical about the title, I decided to give it a try. I had to finish my current audiobook first, and by the time I was ready for the next listen, the 12-days round had ended with the ceasefire.
Nevertheless, I reluctantly proceeded with my "oh well, let's give this survival psychology course a try" project. From the first minutes, I was pleasantly surprised with Nancy Zarse's enthusiastic personality and engaging delivery of the content. It quickly became obvious to me that the survival she was talking about was very different from repeatedly hiding from rockets in a bomb shelter: she discussed surviving critical, life-threatening accidents, very intense but of relatively short duration, where every second of one's actions could be critical for survival.
Each of the aspects of survival mentality was introduced and analyzed through real-life examples, with the cases ranging from very famous like Sully Sullenberger landing his plane on Hudson or Rick Rescorla, the head of security for Morgan Stanley in the World Trade Center, saving thousands of people on September 11th -- to lesser-known but equally life-threatening accidents and sometimes included even Nancy Zarse's personal experiences (she worked as a psychologist in a high-security prison and also in a hostage negotiation team).
And then, closer to the end of the course, the focus switched from surviving critical accidents to resilience in the aftermath of trauma, and it all became very close to home, including some of the examples.
A few food for thought points I'll be taking with me from this short but intent course, where each lecture was cautiously precluded with a trigger warning disclaimer:
1. Words matter: don't say that something is like rape -- nothing else is; don't say that you survived the two-hour long traffic jam -- your life wasn't threatened, so there was nothing for you to survive.
2. Our attitude matters: internal vs external locus of control might play decisive role in our chances to survive a critical accident.
The difference between internal and external locus of control (Image credit: Grace (Tram) Chu, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)
3. Our basic instincts (fear, for example) are there for a reason. We should listen to our intuition and act upon it. On the other hand, to use our instincts for our survival we should be able to control them without succumbing to panic. Easier said than done, of course, but... see item 4.
4.Our actions in a critical situation are the outcome of all our previous training and life experience.
There are lots of other takeaways from this course, but this is what comes to mind at the moment. And now my basic instinct tells me I'd better eat something for supper before my judgement is completely clouded by hunger -- and I'm going to listen to it.;)
Nevertheless, I reluctantly proceeded with my "oh well, let's give this survival psychology course a try" project. From the first minutes, I was pleasantly surprised with Nancy Zarse's enthusiastic personality and engaging delivery of the content. It quickly became obvious to me that the survival she was talking about was very different from repeatedly hiding from rockets in a bomb shelter: she discussed surviving critical, life-threatening accidents, very intense but of relatively short duration, where every second of one's actions could be critical for survival.
Each of the aspects of survival mentality was introduced and analyzed through real-life examples, with the cases ranging from very famous like Sully Sullenberger landing his plane on Hudson or Rick Rescorla, the head of security for Morgan Stanley in the World Trade Center, saving thousands of people on September 11th -- to lesser-known but equally life-threatening accidents and sometimes included even Nancy Zarse's personal experiences (she worked as a psychologist in a high-security prison and also in a hostage negotiation team).
And then, closer to the end of the course, the focus switched from surviving critical accidents to resilience in the aftermath of trauma, and it all became very close to home, including some of the examples.
A few food for thought points I'll be taking with me from this short but intent course, where each lecture was cautiously precluded with a trigger warning disclaimer:
1. Words matter: don't say that something is like rape -- nothing else is; don't say that you survived the two-hour long traffic jam -- your life wasn't threatened, so there was nothing for you to survive.
2. Our attitude matters: internal vs external locus of control might play decisive role in our chances to survive a critical accident.
The difference between internal and external locus of control (Image credit: Grace (Tram) Chu, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)
3. Our basic instincts (fear, for example) are there for a reason. We should listen to our intuition and act upon it. On the other hand, to use our instincts for our survival we should be able to control them without succumbing to panic. Easier said than done, of course, but... see item 4.
4.Our actions in a critical situation are the outcome of all our previous training and life experience.
There are lots of other takeaways from this course, but this is what comes to mind at the moment. And now my basic instinct tells me I'd better eat something for supper before my judgement is completely clouded by hunger -- and I'm going to listen to it.;)
June 10, 2021
So, I picked up this lecture series because I'm interested in the topic. When reading about survival - and wilderness survival in particular, which is what I'm interested in as a hiker and backpacker - emphasis is generally placed on gear first and foremost, then possibly on training. I was interested in learning about psychological factors that - absent gear or specialized training, such as SAR experience - would be helpful in emergency situations.
Survival Mentality is a good lecture series, but one that really, really emphasizes the importance of background and preparedness. The lecturer doesn't go quite so far as to say 'if you're not a soldier/police officer/firefighter/etcetera you're sort of screwed,' but spends so much time - the vast majority of the entire lecture series - talking about those kinds of people that that's the implication I'm left with. It's phrased as 'people revert to their lowest of level of training in a crisis,' but the the sentiment basically translates to 'the people who are decent actors in a crisis are those who've spent the equivalent of a full time job preparing for that situation or something similar.' Such might be true, the lecturer spends an awful lot of time relating anecdotes and comparatively little time relating studies or other quantitative data, but is very unhelpful for most people.
Personally, I prefer Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Lawrence Gonzales. It's been a while since I've read that book, but I remember that author spending approximately the same anecdote/data ratio, but writing with an emphasis on civilians rather than military and law enforcement personel. For people like me, who find the emphasis of this lecture series less than useful, that book may be a good alternative.
Survival Mentality is a good lecture series, but one that really, really emphasizes the importance of background and preparedness. The lecturer doesn't go quite so far as to say 'if you're not a soldier/police officer/firefighter/etcetera you're sort of screwed,' but spends so much time - the vast majority of the entire lecture series - talking about those kinds of people that that's the implication I'm left with. It's phrased as 'people revert to their lowest of level of training in a crisis,' but the the sentiment basically translates to 'the people who are decent actors in a crisis are those who've spent the equivalent of a full time job preparing for that situation or something similar.' Such might be true, the lecturer spends an awful lot of time relating anecdotes and comparatively little time relating studies or other quantitative data, but is very unhelpful for most people.
Personally, I prefer Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Lawrence Gonzales. It's been a while since I've read that book, but I remember that author spending approximately the same anecdote/data ratio, but writing with an emphasis on civilians rather than military and law enforcement personel. For people like me, who find the emphasis of this lecture series less than useful, that book may be a good alternative.
October 12, 2022
Stumbled across this as a monthly freebie from Audible. Hopefully, I'll never have to really use any of these tips but it's nonetheless packed with valuable life-saving advice for dealing with critical life-or-death situations. Filled with general practical tips: internal locus of control, trusting instincts, developing intuition, managing emotions, flexible & positive thinking, situational awareness, grit, resilience, and power of community.
April 2, 2024
I found the presentation interesting. I don't know if I will use much of the info, as I'm not going to train for any situation. Thinking about situations regularly is the best idea. What would I do if I was in that situation?
There could have been more stories/examples of regular people, not police and firefighters. Those people should be prepared, and train all the time for situations. Some better than others.
There could have been more stories/examples of regular people, not police and firefighters. Those people should be prepared, and train all the time for situations. Some better than others.
March 2, 2022
Very good. Highly recommended.
And quote:
Words matter.
Most of us live within the bounds of our potential. Those who excell live at the very edge of their potential. They maximize their potential. They refuse to accept limitations.
In a crisis you don't rise to the occasion, you fall back on your lowest level of preparation.
And quote:
Words matter.
Most of us live within the bounds of our potential. Those who excell live at the very edge of their potential. They maximize their potential. They refuse to accept limitations.
In a crisis you don't rise to the occasion, you fall back on your lowest level of preparation.
September 10, 2020
Very interesting but also a little repetitive.
May 22, 2022
Lots of talking, but doesn't say really much more than to train for bad things and think that you will survive.
August 25, 2022
Very usefully book. Author is expertly using examples to explain the theory. I would recommend it to everyone.
abandoned
November 4, 2022I had to abandon this at at 35%, my Audible plus catalogue loan time ran out.
June 20, 2023
thank you
August 7, 2023
Long gibberish random multiple stories. Not in science details explaining about the psychology of survival.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews