Stress and recovery in extreme situations
Résumé
A better understanding of stress and recovery processes might have practical implications in psychological countermeasures for dealing with the human factor in extreme situations. Preventive countermeasures and interventions would prevent pathogenic psychological outcomes on both the well-being of the participants and their adaptation to such constraining environments, and would contribute to the success of missions in extreme environments. Further improvements in countermeasures may be possible by striking a balance between recovery-stress states in order to enhance adaptation to such constraining situations, thereby increasing salutogenic experiences in ICE environments. Interventions can be trained through regular exercises and especially practices during short simulated missions. As practitioners, we considered preventive measures and interventions such as close monitoring of the stress-recovery balance of participants and the planning of recovery including leisure time and distraction as important facets. These procedures may help to obtain a positive outcome on psychological states in extreme environments. Although not yet fully investigated, efficient psychological preparation may reduce stress, promote recovery and support adaptive responses to such extreme environments.