Don't Let Chaos Turn into Panic

Life can be chaotic. We all experience ups and downs in life. Some of these are natural, such as our aging through time, and other times this is unexpected.

Regardless of why, the impact is real. It feels as though complexity has overcome our world and stolen control. Without control, we start to get anxious. For many, this leads to a panicked mindset.

Panic is normal. Everyone will have a jolt of energy if a bear jumps out in front of us. It is our normal fight or flight kicking in. But what about the daily stresses that aren’t a matter of life and death? That energy, when we decide fight and flight are not options for us, starts to grow.

As it grows, our mind becomes cluttered with racing thoughts. We process thought faster (to try and find a solution) and more random (to try and stumble on a solution).

If we can calm our mind and work to think clearly, we have a better shot at getting past the obstacle. But that is much easier said than done in most cases.

In our world today, we are less likely to have that sudden, immediate threat. Instead we have a growing sense at work that the company is planning layoffs. Or our significant other is spending more time away from home, leading us to feel they are being unfaithful.

This means that fight and flight are not the way forward. These are more complex matters that require a subtle approach. We have to be aware of many factors in making the decision to act.

This often leads to the energy growing and causing our mind to become unsettled. If it goes unchecked, we could become panicked. When we do, we may gravitate to a rash, unhinged approach.

I see this often at work. Something unexpected occurs such as an employee quitting, customer requesting some new level of service, or a parts shortage causing production to slow.

These all need attention. These problems force their consequences on us. We have to find a way to solve the problem, and quickly. This type of chaos leads to panic.

In these moments, the best thing to do is to think it through and take the next step. We don’t usually have decisions between perfect solutions and terrible solutions. What we have are real world solutions, that include benefits and consequences. We have to remain calm and choose the best one available.

But when panic becomes overwhelming the decisions we make tend to fall to one of the extremes. Either they are rash. Or, we get paralyzed in analysis. Either way, we are not likely to move through the current chaos in the best manner.

Therefore, we have to learn how to calm the natural fight or flight response. We all have it, but we can all gain control after the initial jolt of energy. It is up to us if we let that jolt turn into a lingering anxiety and panic. Instead we have to learn how to take slow, steady action to calm the chaos and avoid the panic.