What to do if you became a hostage for a long time?

Keeping the psychological stability while you`re kidnapped for a long time is one of the most important conditions for hostage rescue. There are good any ways and methods that detract from the unpleasant feelings and experiences, that allow to keep a clear mind, an adequate assessment of the situation. What to do if you became a hostage for a long time?

With a long-term presence in a hostage situation it`s useful to learn the following rules:

1). Do not let the appearance of a sense of pity, confusion and bewilderment. Mentally prepare yourself for the future trials. Keep a mental activity. Very helpful in all respects is to practice the auditory training and meditation. Such methods help keep your mind under control. Avoid the occurrence of the feelings of despair, use for it the internal resources of self-persuasion.

2). Try as far as possible, comply with the requirements of personal hygiene.

3). Try to think positive and remember the pleasant things. Keep in mind that the chances of liberation increase with time. Be sure that everything possible is being done for your early release.

4). If it`s possible, read everything what you have, even if the text is completely not interesting. You can also write, despite the fact that the writing will be take away from you. The most important is the process that helps to maintain sanity. Try to think about books, which you have read before, sequentially ponder the various abstract processes (to solve the mathematical tasks, reminisce the foreign words, etc.). Your brain must work.

5). Constantly find any activity to yourself (the exercises, reading, life memories, and so on). As a minimum, alternately tense and relax all the muscles of the body, if you can not perform the usual gym complex. Similar exercises are desirable to repeat at least three times a day. Set the daily schedule of physical and intellectual activity, do the things in strict methodical manner.

6). It is important to keep track of time, especially in case that the kidnappers are usually taken your watch, refusing to say what day and hour is it now, isolated from the outside world. Sign the day and night (on the activity of criminals, the sounds, nutrition regime, etc.).

7). Try to relate to what is happening to you, as if from the outside, without taking to the heart what had happened, until the end keep the hope for a favorable outcome. Fear, depression and apathy are your three main enemies.

8). Do not throw away the things that might be useful (the drugs, glasses, pencils, etc.), try to create at least a minimum supply of drinking water and food in case, if they will forget about you for a long time, or stop feeding you.

9). To maintain the strength eat everything that they are giving to you, even if you don`t like the food, and it does not cause the appetite. Aware that the loss of appetite and weight is normal in such an extreme situation.

10). If you are injured, the main thing is to try to stop the bleeding, and bandaged the wound. Provide the assistance to those who are close to you, but he or she is in a more difficult position.

11). Do not take the weapon to your hands, that you are not mistaken with terrorists.

12). Do not try to resist to the terrorists by your own.

13). If they hang a bomb on you, you need without panic use your voice or gesture to let know the security officers about it.

To break the hostage psychologically, criminals use the following measures of the pressure:

• Restrict the mobility, sight and hearing.
• Poorly fed, tortured by hunger and thirst, deprive of the cigarettes.
• Create the intolerable conditions of stay.
• Periodically interrogate, sometimes with predilection.