Are you a panic? Do you panic easily? Are you ever in a blind panic? Do you suffer from panic attacks? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, then there is a special day for you. June 18 is International Panic Day. It is a day when it is OK to be worried and concerned and run around panic-stricken. No one really knows where this day originated, but it seems a good idea to have a day when we can all freak out. Or maybe it’s a day when we tell others not to panic. “Don’t panic. Do NOT hit the panic button. Do not hit panic stations. The world is not about to end!” I’m sure this will calm down your panicking and panicky friends. It is strange that all previous International Panic Days have gone so smoothly.

So what is panic, exactly? It is a sudden, uncontrollable fear or anxiety that makes us lose our ability to think normally. Panic takes over our mind and makes us behave in a frightened way. We typically panic in dangerous situations such as earthquakes or at the sound of gunfire. Panic can spread very quickly. We see this where there are large crowds of people and something happens to create panic. Soon there is a stampede, which can be fatal. People also panic if they think they are going to lose money. We read all the time about ‘financial’, ‘stock market’ and ‘economic’ panic. We see people in a panic every day, rushing to meet a deadline or trying to find a lost document on a messy desk. What’s the best way to act in a panic situation?

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