I learned the law of 3
in the middle of the desert in Utah. I had been in the desert for 14
days when my teachers called the students into a circle. We had been
constantly hungry, thirsty, cold, hot, rained upon, sick, and 2 had
twisted their ankle. We were also 100 miles from paved roads, so their
words carried more weight.
Your body has many needs, but some have higher priority than others. When the shit hits the fan and an all-out crisis happens, it is important to know what the priorities are. The Law of 3 helps you to remember them.
Calmness is the first priority. No how bad an accident is - whether it's losing your backpack down a cliff, breaking your leg, feeling an earthquake, or even something as mundane as a computer problem - it will get MUCH WORSE in the first 3 seconds if you allow panic to take a hold of you. You'll slide down that unstable ledge after your pack; you'll stand up and turn that hairline fracture into a compound fracture; you'll freeze where you stand instead of seeking safer cover; you'll hit the power button without saving your data - and POOF. The situation just got much worse. Awareness of your state and control of your breathing are the two biggest factors in controlling this panic.
August 23, 2011 was an eye-opening example - the east coast of the United States (where I live) experienced a 5.9 earthquake. As soon as I realized the slight rumbling was not a nearby truck, I got up, quickly walked away from the large glass windows to my back and into a doorframe. I called out to my coworkers loudly and calmly to GET IN A DOORWAY. Yet by the time the quake ended, only 1 person (out of roughly 20 within earshot) had even started to approach any doorway. The rest were frozen, asking "Is this an Earthquake?". While they would not identify that as panic, that is exactly what that freezing in place is. They also were not able to hear my clear instructions - this is called "auditory exclusion", and is a common trait of panic. Trauma survivors frequently report auditory exclusion when recounting the ordeal.
Air is the second priority. You can go roughly 3 minutes without taking in air before serious and permanent damage or death takes place. If your (or someone you love's) airway is blocked, whether its from swelling from an allergic reaction, choking on food, or being trapped in an airtight space once the air has run out, you have 3 minutes to remedy the problem. Whatever the answer is - Epinepherine, Heimlich maneuver, tracheotomy, etc - you have 3 minutes to fix whatever has gone wrong. The time goes down if there is panic, as you will be expending much more air than is necessary. (blood chokes, which occur in martial arts where the carotid artery is blocked via external pressure, preventing oxygen from reaching the brain, are a special case. These cause unconsciousness in much less than 3 minutes - in seconds if the choke is well-executed. But for the Law of 3, we're dealing with situations where vascular blood flow is not restricted.)
Shelter is the third priority. If you are cold or wet to the point of hypothermia, you will succumb to exposure in about 3 hours unless you are able to find a place to dry out. Having a change of clothing, knowing how to make a weatherproof shelter - even fabricating cover out of garbage bags (I have done this) is something you need to recognize and know how to do if help is more than 3 hours away. I have a friend who almost died (she lost 4 toes instead) when a 3 mile snow hike went very badly wrong and lasted 12 hours. Obviously, this is less of a problem if it is 72 degrees and dry, but the point is to prepare for all situations - not just best case scenarios.
Water is the fourth priority. The human body can generally go 3 days without water. Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, as well as exertion of the individual, can make this number go down. Knowing how to locate, store, sterilize, or filter water is vital. Knowing how to treat diarrhea is just as important. (Did you know that you can make a tea out of pine needles that will help with that? It's not as good as Immodium, and it tastes like shit, but it was helped me out before)
Food is the fifth priority, and is way further down the list than most people think. Your body can go about 3 weeks without food before lasting and irreversible damage to organs and tissues takes place. I have personally gone 5 days with zero food, hiking 10-15 miles per day with severe elevation changes, with no ill effects (other than I was grumpy and had a headache for the first 2 days). The rule of thumb is that if you are surviving long enough to get hungry, you're doing alright.
Companionship is the sixth and last priority. If you go longer than 3 months without human contact, it can be psychologically harmful. The instructors who took me into the desert to learn how to survive like an Anasazi Indian from 1500 years ago are a unique and interesting bunch. Many of them live year-round in tents (yurts) that they have made themselves. Several of them have not had indoor plumbing or a traditional roof over their heads in years. But it is a close-knit community, and even when one of them is soujourning many miles away from civilization for weeks at a time, their friends will make sure to do sanity visits and check in on them every few weeks. People need other people. It's what keeps us from having conversations with bloody handprints on Wilson volleyballs.
Your body has many needs, but some have higher priority than others. When the shit hits the fan and an all-out crisis happens, it is important to know what the priorities are. The Law of 3 helps you to remember them.
Calmness is the first priority. No how bad an accident is - whether it's losing your backpack down a cliff, breaking your leg, feeling an earthquake, or even something as mundane as a computer problem - it will get MUCH WORSE in the first 3 seconds if you allow panic to take a hold of you. You'll slide down that unstable ledge after your pack; you'll stand up and turn that hairline fracture into a compound fracture; you'll freeze where you stand instead of seeking safer cover; you'll hit the power button without saving your data - and POOF. The situation just got much worse. Awareness of your state and control of your breathing are the two biggest factors in controlling this panic.
August 23, 2011 was an eye-opening example - the east coast of the United States (where I live) experienced a 5.9 earthquake. As soon as I realized the slight rumbling was not a nearby truck, I got up, quickly walked away from the large glass windows to my back and into a doorframe. I called out to my coworkers loudly and calmly to GET IN A DOORWAY. Yet by the time the quake ended, only 1 person (out of roughly 20 within earshot) had even started to approach any doorway. The rest were frozen, asking "Is this an Earthquake?". While they would not identify that as panic, that is exactly what that freezing in place is. They also were not able to hear my clear instructions - this is called "auditory exclusion", and is a common trait of panic. Trauma survivors frequently report auditory exclusion when recounting the ordeal.
Air is the second priority. You can go roughly 3 minutes without taking in air before serious and permanent damage or death takes place. If your (or someone you love's) airway is blocked, whether its from swelling from an allergic reaction, choking on food, or being trapped in an airtight space once the air has run out, you have 3 minutes to remedy the problem. Whatever the answer is - Epinepherine, Heimlich maneuver, tracheotomy, etc - you have 3 minutes to fix whatever has gone wrong. The time goes down if there is panic, as you will be expending much more air than is necessary. (blood chokes, which occur in martial arts where the carotid artery is blocked via external pressure, preventing oxygen from reaching the brain, are a special case. These cause unconsciousness in much less than 3 minutes - in seconds if the choke is well-executed. But for the Law of 3, we're dealing with situations where vascular blood flow is not restricted.)
Shelter is the third priority. If you are cold or wet to the point of hypothermia, you will succumb to exposure in about 3 hours unless you are able to find a place to dry out. Having a change of clothing, knowing how to make a weatherproof shelter - even fabricating cover out of garbage bags (I have done this) is something you need to recognize and know how to do if help is more than 3 hours away. I have a friend who almost died (she lost 4 toes instead) when a 3 mile snow hike went very badly wrong and lasted 12 hours. Obviously, this is less of a problem if it is 72 degrees and dry, but the point is to prepare for all situations - not just best case scenarios.
Water is the fourth priority. The human body can generally go 3 days without water. Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, as well as exertion of the individual, can make this number go down. Knowing how to locate, store, sterilize, or filter water is vital. Knowing how to treat diarrhea is just as important. (Did you know that you can make a tea out of pine needles that will help with that? It's not as good as Immodium, and it tastes like shit, but it was helped me out before)
Food is the fifth priority, and is way further down the list than most people think. Your body can go about 3 weeks without food before lasting and irreversible damage to organs and tissues takes place. I have personally gone 5 days with zero food, hiking 10-15 miles per day with severe elevation changes, with no ill effects (other than I was grumpy and had a headache for the first 2 days). The rule of thumb is that if you are surviving long enough to get hungry, you're doing alright.
Companionship is the sixth and last priority. If you go longer than 3 months without human contact, it can be psychologically harmful. The instructors who took me into the desert to learn how to survive like an Anasazi Indian from 1500 years ago are a unique and interesting bunch. Many of them live year-round in tents (yurts) that they have made themselves. Several of them have not had indoor plumbing or a traditional roof over their heads in years. But it is a close-knit community, and even when one of them is soujourning many miles away from civilization for weeks at a time, their friends will make sure to do sanity visits and check in on them every few weeks. People need other people. It's what keeps us from having conversations with bloody handprints on Wilson volleyballs.
