Exploring the Psychology of Panic Buying
Panic buying is big news. Recent global events have triggered several panic buying sprees, resulting in big queues. Fears about fuel and food items shortages have prompted shoppers to stockpile in a phenomenon that’s been labelled “panic buying”. In this article we consider some of the psychological drivers at play with panic buying, how this relates to other forms of panic and anxiety and how we can remain calm and grounded in the face of panic buying news reports. Throughout, this blog aims to take a non-judgemental approach to panic and panic-buying in order to make meaning of the anxiety involved in panic and panic-buying. We’ll also explore some practical ways you can ground yourself and stay regulated and calm when there are reports of shortages and difficult global events happening.
What is panic?
The word panic originates from the Greek panikos, which includes the name of the god Pan: noted for causing terror. Greek myths frequently blame Pan for causing woodland noises that strike terror and anxiety into the heart of other woodland beings. This origin of the word panic helps us to better understand something of what panic feels like: panic can be defined as a sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety that can result in unthinking or reactive behaviour. And, it is that sense of fear and anxiety that can result in the reactive behaviour of stocking up and stockpiling that is bWeeing termed “panic buying”. If we were to distil panic buying into an equation, it would look something like this:
Reports of shortages + fear of future scarcity = reactive behaviour of stockpiling.
Stockpiling fuel is one response to the anxiety and fear people experience when they hear news reports about global crises.
Panic is not a new phenomenon. Many people come to therapy to seek support after experiencing symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks. A panic attack can be extremely distressing and frightening and includes symptoms of:
A racing heartbeat
sweating
nausea
feeling faint, dizzy or light-headed.
feeling that you're losing control.
sweating, trembling or shaking.
shortness of breath or breathing very quickly.
a tingling in your fingers or lips.
chest pain
hot flushes
chills
dry mouth
a need to go to the toilet
ringing in your ears
a feeling of dread
a churning stomach
Panic Attacks can be extremely distressing and debilitating
The anxious experience of panic can lead us to want to curl up, hide or escape
What do panic attacks and panic buying have in common?
Whilst panic buying at the forecourts and in supermarkets may not mirror the typical symptoms of a full-blown panic attack, similar psychological processes are behind panic buying and a panic attack. Both are essentially a mental, emotional, physical and behavioural response to fear. Both are about perceived loss of control and anticipatory fears about what might happen. Panic attacks can be triggered by particular situations and scenarios and the beliefs and expectations a person has about that situation. Panic buying is, ultimately, fuelled by an anticipatory fear of scarcity: that we will be left without food, without fuel and struggling to get by. Such fear prompts a responsive action to stockpile or hoard. This is something we feel we do have control over, and helps – in the short term- to reduce feelings of anxiety and panic associated with fears of scarcity. However, in the long term, panic buying behaviour can disrupt the supply chain and lead to issues with supplies in stores. Even when we are told rationally to simply shop as we usually would, there is some inner drive that can override this advice, leading us to stockpile.
Panic buying and the role of perceived scarcity
Research shows that the perception of scarcity is strongly linked with the panic buying behaviour (Arafat, et al. 2020). We fear running out, not having enough, going without. That’s a real and understandable fear. As an infant, you cried when we were hungry. Even at that young age, you were driven by a innate survival instinct that equates food with survival. News reports and overheard conversations about empty shelves, therefore, fuels our perceptions of scarcity and is likely to increase panic buying. Our brain moves into the territory of survival, with the limbic system of our brain kickstarting a reaction. The feeling of insecurity that arises when we fear we will not have enough food or fuel activates the desire to respond and react by stockpiling. Buying fuel and food soothes our personal anxiety around scarcity in the short term. We can consider stockpiling and panic buying as a form of safety seeking behaviour.
The limbic brain and panic
The limbic system of your brain is responsible for basic survival instincts
Your limbic system promotes reactions including flight, fight and freeze
We mentioned the limbic system of the brain earlier. With any form of panic or extreme anxiety, your limbic brain – that is, your emotional and reactive brain that is responsible for keeping us safe from danger, begins to work overtime. The pre-frontal cortex part of your brain that makes rational decisions and weighs evidence before responding is less likely to be functioning and collaborating with the limbic system. Dan Siegal, clinical professor of psychiatry, calls this “flipping your lid”. It’s hard to think rationally and logically when the limbic system is in full throttle mode. Flipping your lid, however, is useful when your brain and body need to run, attack or save your life in some other way - what we sometimes refer to as the fight, flight, freeze and fawn responses.
Stockpiling and panic buying, then, can be a form of fight - a way of automatically reacting to a danger or a threat. If you find yourself stockpiling as a reactive behaviour, rather than a calmly thought out and reasoned response to a challenging situation, it is possible that your limbic system has taken over and you are acting out of panic and without the full use of your pre-frontal cortex, your rational thinking brain. Just as with a panic attack, grounding exercises and self-regulation support can help you to calm any sense of panic and allow your limbic brain and our pre-frontal cortex to work together and make rational decisions rather than reactive and impulsive actions.
Grounding yourself to help manage panic
Grounding exercises can help you to calm and regulate yourself when panic and anxiety begins to rise
Feeling calmer and more grounded allows you to be more capable of making calm, rational decisions that respond (rather than react) to challenge
Grounding exercises and self-regulation support are an important tool for managing anxiety and panic. Approaches and strategies that help to calm your nervous system without leading to additional harm can be considered a form of self-regulation and grounding. For some people, this takes the form of meditation. For others, calm and mindful breathing or movement and rhythmic bodily approaches help to ground - walking to a beat and swinging your arms, or even a “butterfly hug”, for example. The key here to these techniques or exercises is that they allow some sense of control or feeling of mastery over our own responses and our reactions, whilst also soothing the nervous system and helping to give the brain and body a greater sense of safety. They can be very helpful for managing emerging feelings and sensations that suggest a panic attack might be on the way. They’re also useful tools to consider when we feel disturbed, anxious or ill-at-ease about panic buying reports.
Herd instinct and co-regulation
Other people impact our nervous systems in a phenomenon we call “co-regulation”
Other people panicking impacts your own nervous system
One final consideration that is relevant to the psychology of panic buying is that humans are social beings. We can’t help but be influenced by the reactions and behaviours of others. This has been labelled the “herd instinct”. We often find that we look to others as a means of comparison and to gauge our own responses. As social creatures, our brains and emotional states are impacted by that of others in a phenomenon called “co-regulation”. My state of emotional and psychological regulation can be impacted by that of another. Your sense of calmness and serenity can be affected by how calm and regulated the people you are with are. In this way, panic can be contagious. Seeing news reports and also speaking with others who are feeling panicky as a result of perceived scarcity can result in us also feeling a sense of anxiety and panic.
Recognising the impact of others upon your nervous system can allow you to make choices. How can you stay calm and grounded when others aren’t. Do you want to make choices about how much exposure you have to people who are panicking? Is being exposed to news reports 24/7 helping or hindering your ability to stay calm and think straight? Understanding something about the process of co-regulation and herd instinct when it comes to panic buying can help you to make choices and decisions.
Tying it all together
So – panic buying, like other forms of panic and anxiety is essentially a fear-based response that emerges from a perception of danger or risk. Panic buying, like other forms of panic and anxiety, can be a reaction resulting from your limbic system’s response to perceived danger. News reports and being with others who are experiencing panic can also fuel our own feelings of panic. Grounding and self-regulation that helps us to allow our limbic system and our pre-frontal cortex to work in an integrated and unified way is one way to help respond to panic. Grounding exercises are ways in which we can regain some sense of control in a world that sometimes feels out of control.
Next steps?
This blog has aimed to unpack something of the psychology of panic-buying in a non-judgemental way. It has aimed to make meaning of panic and anxiety and the feelings of being out of control. For many people, therapy offers a space to explore in a non-judgemental context, what panic, anxiety and feeling out of control is like for them – with the ultimate goal of making meaning of their experiences.
If you feel you’d like to find out more how counselling can help with panic and anxiety, please do get in touch with me, Claire Law, for a free initial phone or online consultation. Counselling and psychotherapy can help you to make meaning of your own experiences of panic, fear and anxiety, and find ways to live as calmly as you can with challenging world events.
I’m a BACP Senior Accredited Psychotherapist offering professional counselling and psychotherapy in Preston, Lancashire and online for adults based in the UK.
I offer a simple, no-pressure approach to people who are considering counselling for anxiety and panic - and can chat through how I work, and to share with you my availability for new clients for either:
In person counselling at my therapy room in Preston.
Online counselling via MS Teams.
References:
Arafat, S., Kar, S. K., Marthoenis, M., Sharma, P., Hoque Apu, E., & Kabir, R. (2020). Psychological underpinning of panic buying during pandemic (COVID-19). Psychiatry research, 289.
Wilkens J. The San Diego Union-Tribune; 2020. Why We Hoard: Fear at Root of Panic-Buying, Psychologists Say.