survival mechanisms
Ways to endure
Survival mechanisms are the physical, psychological, or behavioral responses that help organisms endure threats or hardship.
In biology, these include fight-or-flight responses, hibernation, or camouflage.
In psychology, the term often describes coping strategies—healthy or unhealthy—that people develop to manage trauma or stress: Dissociation can be a survival mechanism for abuse victims.
The phrase implies that the response, however maladaptive it may seem, once served a protective purpose.
- fight-or-flight responsePhysiological reaction to danger
- fight or flightThreat-triggered physiological state
- resilienceCapacity to recover quickly
- camouflageConcealment through visual blending
- thermoregulationMaintaining stable internal heat
mimicry · exoskeletons · playing dead · migration · scavenging · foraging · regeneration · compartmentalization · hibernation · dormancy · emotional regulation · autophagy · safety in numbers · herd mentality · pack behavior · coping · immune response · symbiosis
survival mechanismsself-sabotage
Undermining your own goals
self-harm · death wish · reckless abandon · apoptosis · suicidal ideation