In times of a crisis everything seems like it is going downhill. Stores start closing down, everyone starts to only think for themselves and not for everyone as a whole. But why must people do this instead of not freaking out and being smart? Because humans’ natural tendency, in times of crisis, is to panic.

According to scientificamerican.com, people panic because of the build up of stress. When something happens that is highly stressful for people, the pandemic for example, people develop such a high stress level that one little bit of stress from something else can cause a panic. The people of the United States right now are experiencing this, and if the panic gets worse so could everything else.

A way to stop this is to look at the situation from another person’s eyes. Donald Trump for example must be under tons of stress because if he makes the wrong decision during this pandemic the whole country could fall off. Yes, these situations are life threatening, but you are not the only one involved. And that is why staying calm and not panicking is better, because it helps everyone rather than just yourself.

Through text I asked Elliot Jarrous, a former Lakewood High School student, what he thinks about panicking. He said, ” Panicking is something we all do naturally, but in the face of a pandemic I think we need to do whatever we can to limit the panic. It will only make things worse because people will get more prepared than they need to be.”

In the face of a pandemic fear and stress will naturally build up to intense levels. But if one cares about the people more than themselves, they would do everything they can to not panic and put themselves in someone’s shoes who is in a worse situation.