TWD, Survival Rule Of The Week: What you DON’T need from yourself

3) Panic

Has there ever been a problem that has been helped by people panicking?

I think not.

As I said earlier, fear is both necessary and useful. Panic, on the other hand, is neither. Unlike cowardice, panic isn’t necessarily freaking out over things that may not be dangerous. But rather, allowing yourself to become completely engulfed in irrational (If slightly warranted) fear, the kind of fear that would make people behave more like a stampede of wildebeests than people.

What makes the difference, I think, is that panic is borne out of a completely reasonable fear (In this case, of zombies) that just goes overboard, while cowardice, even if it’s brought on by panic, is over a situation that can and maybe even should be dealt with.

Again, I won’t decry someone for having fear, but I would do so for someone panicking, mostly because you can control it. What I mean by that is: Even if you’re terrified of zombies, that doesn’t mean you must act like an irrational animal and trample any poor soul unfortunate enough to get between you and the exit. You can think calmly and rationally, even in disastrous circumstances, and, quite honestly, to survive, you may have to because that irrationality can cause you to make boneheaded mistakes. Mistakes that you wouldn’t make normally, and ones that, once you make them, guarantee that you die.

I won’t say that mastering panic is easy, but it can be done, and once a zombie apocalypse hits (Particularly at the beginning), it needs to be done. Panicking won’t help you figure out where to run, it won’t help you figure out the best place to hide, and it won’t help you figure how to fight the dead. Only keeping your head on your shoulders can do that.