How to resist the urge to panic buy

Fewer lorry drivers and talk of possible food and petrol shortages have reawakened panic buying. What’s the basis for this seemingly senseless reaction, given that most of us have easy access to far more than we need?

The major cause is a mismatch between our survival instincts and the way we live now. It’s only relatively recently that we’ve enjoyed an abundance of goods that are constantly on hand.

Historically, we had to forage and take advantage of what was around. Then, the urge to ‘store up’ to offset the (frequent) periods when food wasn’t available saved lives. No wonder that tendency has survived. The problem, however, is that modern conditions mean we don’t need to behave like that now.

According to research by Nanyang University in Singapore, there are four main psychological bases of panic buying. The first is our individual perception of the severity of the threat and the scarcity of the goods we think we need.

For many, this is determined to a large extent by the second factor, social learning. Without awareness, we often copy the behaviour of others and trust biased accounts of threat on social media. Third is our desire to find a coping mechanism to ease high levels of anxiety. Stocking up on food and petrol makes us feel we’ve regained some control.

Finally, there’s our fear of the unknown. Alan Stewart at the University of Georgia suggests we panic buy in times of threat because we no longer understand how products we need appear in the shops. Whereas once we grew our own food and made much of what we needed ourselves, now the manufacturing, transportation and delivery of consumables is a complex chain of events few of us fully understand.

We experience the same panicky feelings when our computer or car stops working. These and other items we’ve come to depend on have become too complex for us to deal with ourselves, so we feel helpless when they break down, and react emotionally rather than logically.

If you feel the urge to panic buy, here’s a better way to react:

Think back. The last time you felt this way, did you actually experience true and sustained deprivation? If so, it was only because of mass panic buying rather than true shortages. Try not to be part of the problem.

Check actual availability. Resist the temptation to look on social media to learn about shortages that may or may not be relevant for you. Instead, make a list of items you consider necessary, then look online or visit your local shops directly to discover for yourself what’s available. If there’s a dearth, ask when the next delivery is expected.

Prioritise activities that help you think logically rather than fall slave to anxiety. Establish a good sleep routine, go to bed early, exercise every day, set small achievable goals, and limit the time you access social media, particularly near bedtime.

Linda Blair is a clinical psychologist and author of Siblings: How to Handle Rivalry and Create Lifelong Loving

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