‘Fearcasting’ to blame for the stress of everyday emergencies

From missing the bus, misplacing glasses, or running out of phone battery; small and unplanned ‘emergencies’ can cause an undue amount of stress.

Psychologists at Goldsmiths, University London have teamed up with insurance provider Direct Line on a new study, which reveals that ‘fearcasting’ is to blame for disproportionate amounts of stress.

Fearcasting is the heightened panic experienced while an everyday emergency is occurring.

It is a result of the brain forward-planning for all eventualities, no matter how unrealistic, and is to blame for making the moment an everyday emergency strikes one of such frustration.

What’s stressing us out?

A survey commissioned by Direct Line has revealed that over a quarter (26 per cent) of Brits experience at least one ‘everyday emergency’ daily.

This led to Direct Line collaborating with psychologists from i2 media research at Goldsmiths to investigate why these daily mini crises cause high levels of stress.

To get to the bottom of why, Direct Line has revealed what is causing the frustration.

The top ten everyday emergencies stressing out the nation are: 

1. Not being able to sleep (46 per cent)
2. Losing your keys (37 per cent)
3. Being stuck in traffic when already late (35 per cent)
4. Losing an important paper or document (33 per cent)
5. Nowhere to park (32 per cent)
6. Printer not working when you need to print something (31 per cent)
7. Running out of battery on your phone whilst out (31 per cent)
8. Discovering you are out of toilet roll whilst on the loo (30 per cent)
9. Dealing with machine operated customer service (26 per cent)
10. Forgetting your bank card when paying for an item (25 per cent)

How do we react to everyday emergencies? 

i2 media’s study monitored and recorded how a group of respondents reacted to these top ten everyday emergencies; emotionally and physically.

The project, consisting of daily diaries, video selfies and live experiments, produced the following five key findings: 

1. Fearcasting - A key factor contributing to the stress caused by everyday emergencies is the mental 'running through' of possible outcomes, some of which may not happen
2. Resource - The more resources you have to solve the problem, such as money, time, or people with expertise, the less stressful the everyday emergency
3. Realisation - The sudden realisation of being out of control of the everyday emergency is a secondary contributing factor towards the overall stress
4. Extent - The extent of the disruption directly impacts levels of stress
5. Context - The stress baseline level of the individual dramatically affects how they will react to the emergency. If they were already experiencing other life dramas, then what may be considered a ‘tiny’ everyday emergency could become a major incident 

Jonathan Freeman, Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths and Managing Director at i2 media research said: 

“We’ve been researching the affects of stress triggers on people for the last 15 years so were really keen to support Direct Line and investigate how everyday emergencies, however small, can conjure up large feelings of stress.

“Existing literature shows the unforeseen nature and disruption caused by everyday emergencies contribute to this high level of stress; but we weren’t expecting to find that one of the major triggers is the way in which people mentally process the spiraling effects of an everyday emergency.

"By way of an example, you may be sat in traffic on your way to the train station – the worry about having to pay for a new ticket after missing the train can cause a feeling of hysteria. If you knew that in reality you’d be let on the next train for free then you wouldn’t feel so stressed.”

Direct Line’s Everyday Fix event, to be held in their headquarters at Somerset House on 8^th and 9^th April, will bring together the UK’s most forward-thinking designers and innovators to create products and services that fix everyday emergencies.

 

Image - CreativeCommons - epSos .de