A lasting memory of the TV series Dad’s Army is Lance Corporal Jones running around shouting “Don’t Panic! Don’t Panic!” while doing that very thing.

Jones and the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard may have been fictional, but the wartime government delivered a similar message. Its Keep Calm and Carry On slogan has enjoyed a recent frivolous new lease of life, but during the Second World War, the message was deadly serious. In general, the population responded, keeping calm and carrying on in the face of danger and deprivation.

In contrast, we seem to have lost the resilience of our parents and grandparents. The collective stiff upper lip quivers at the least upset, stoicism replaced by anxiety and panic. In 2021, the Office for National Statistics reported that, with a couple of regional exceptions, “Average ratings of anxiety increased in all countries and regions of the UK”. That would be understandable amongst the people of the Ukraine or Afghans attempting to flee Kabul as the Taliban closed in. But no, our increased anxiety appears to arise from much lesser concerns.

Perhaps we need regular “fixes” of crises and anxieties to get the adrenalin going. In the last couple of years, we have been able to obsess over Brexit and Covid. As the heat goes out of those issues, we can fret about trivial issues such as the weather or, more seriously, the soaring cost of living. A week of sunny weather is enough to provoke panic of widespread drought and thousands of oldies succumbing to heatstroke. That never seems to happen, probably because it rains and most oldies are wise enough to stay out of the midday sun.

Give it another week and there will be warnings of an imminent “white hell” and the severest winter since records began. Sure, Brexit has caused inconvenience for business and hauliers, but the carnage at Dover didn’t materialise. Covid came along in the nick of time to fill the void and give us something fresh to worry about. Politicians, including the Prime Minister, did little to give assurance and it was down to Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty, to exude calm and authority. Sir Chris’ calm still wasn’t enough though, to prevent the terminally anxious besieging supermarkets and filling stations at the first hint of a shortage of pasta or unleaded.

Feelings of panic are cumulative, stirred by a relentless stream of crises, real and manufactured, following hard on the heels of one another. They come around more frequently than they used to, cumulatively sapping our confidence that everything will turn out fine.

Few of us have much faith in the Government putting things right. Social media is blamed for most things, and it’s certainly one of the major sources of increased levels of anxiety, particularly amongst the young. Sensational click-bait attracts the all-important online hits. The undiscerning will mistake it for the truth. Switching on my computer, I learned a “massive asteroid” is heading for earth, passing within a mere three million miles of us. I’m taking no chances and building a shelter in the garden.

Anxiety and panic are conductive and social media spreads the contagion rapidly from person to person. Additionally, some appear to take perverse satisfaction in transmitting their own anxiety to others. Rolling 24-hour news is not blameless. Friends have stopped watching television news because it’s simply too depressing.

Social media, 24-hour news and yes, sensational print headlines, have all helped to normalise anxiety and panic. Yes, of course we should be concerned about rising prices and energy costs, but that is very different from panic. A friend recently described rising energy costs as “unbelievable” but he should believe it, because it’s happening.

Not believing or panicking, diverts us from planning and doing something to help ourselves. Instead of echoing Private Frazer of Dad’s Army, “We’re doomed I tell ye, doomed”, our leaders have a responsibility to develop solution-based and empowering strategies.

When the First Minister talks about “destitution and devastation” she is adopting the Chicken Little approach, also known as “the sky is falling”. Yes, things are certainly serious, but it’s not the end of the world. Chicken Little and Private Frazer responses fuel helplessness, anxiety and panic. Instead, we need inspired leadership, positivity and strategies that we can all apply to our own situations.

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