The Panic Imperative

A distraught woman hails a cab in a strange town. Her husband just left her driving away and has turned his cell phone off. She wants a ride home, but does not have the money for the taxi fare. Her credit card is maxed out and the only money she has is the $80 in her purse; the fare home is $150. Unfortunately the cab driver can do nothing for her as she does not have the money for the trip. This leaves her panicking; she is in a strange city without enough money to survive; her whole world seems to be collapsing right in front of her eyes; this beautiful resort is the last place she wants to be.

All people panic when faced with situations that are, or seem to be, out of their control. Each of us likes to face new challenges, but we wish to do so on our own terms. When a sudden unexpected change is thrust on us by others is when we tend to panic. We experience what Dr Thomas Hanna described as a “Red Light Reflex”, also known as the withdrawal or startle response. Here the neuromuscular system is reacting to sustained negative stress. This reflex is linked to the primitive survival reflex that lies deep outside our conscious control and is activated if we feel threatened. When sudden change is thrust upon us by the actions of others that many people’s sense of control is lost and we do feel threatened. This is where panic can occur in any person. In work or personal lives we can all be affected when change is forced on us by others. 

The impact of change on you is perhaps the most import thing we need to understand for our own personal development. Your employers implementing a new computer system? Just got let go by a company you have been loyal to for 25 years? Going through separation or divorce? These are all situations where change is thrust on someone by others. There is a grief cycle associated with any such change. Part of the problem is that we do not know how we are going to react in any situation until it happens. No matter who we are all of us are affected to some extent. We have to get through the grief cycle in order to move on to the next part of our lives. Moving on is important as none of us can ever remain in the same place in our lives.