Staying calm when others panic

Right now, the world is in the grip of a new illness. Coronavirus and the resulting illness Covid-19 have caused widespread unease and even panic in some quarters.

When left to its most extreme form, this level of panic can result in violence and accidents – as well as a potential rise in personal injury claims.

It can therefore pay to keep your head when others around you are losing theirs.

The risks

We’ve probably all seen the news reports of how many people are infected with the new illness and who is most at risk. Depending on where we live, we may also have seen a real problem in our supermarkets and shopping centres.

People have been ransacking the shelves, taking supplies they think they’ll need if they end up having to self-isolate in their homes. There have been reports of queues of people waiting to get into these shops stretching around parking lots.

There has been some friction between shoppers, with fights breaking out in the aisles. This has the potential to turn into even higher levels of violence, putting anyone present at risk. So what can you do to keep calm during this global crisis?

Don’t buy too much

Thinking clearly about what you need and what you don’t can help to reduce panic buying. Others may be buying everything they think they may possibly need, but the only thing this will achieve is a lack of supplies for other people.

Making sure you don’t buy more than you need can help to give everyone the chance to get hold of those essential items. Just think about how you wouldn’t want to be the person who shows up to get their groceries but can’t get hold of anything they need.

Offer help

There will be people who can’t get out and about as easily as you. This means they may face problems when it comes to getting what they need. Groceries and medication and even medical attention could be challenging for these people.

If you’re able to, it would mean a lot to someone in this situation if you offered them some help. Just dropping off some groceries or volunteering to drive them to a medical appointment can be a huge help to someone when they’re not able to get out.

This could be something that you can keep doing for your friends and neighbours. You could think about setting up a group that takes part in activities like this. Helping one another is one of the most important parts of staying calm amongst other people’s panic.

The benefits

Remaining calm and level-headed is one way of avoiding the stress and anxiety that other people will be experiencing in times like this. It can mean you avoid any of the associated health problems and maintain a good level of focus and concentration on the task at hand.

So when you’re trying to stay calm when everyone else is panicking, the most important thing you can do is think. Think about what you can do to help