A to Z Quick Chat 97 | Are you good in stressful situations or do you freak out?

In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack discuss the following question: Are you good in stressful situations or do you freak out?

Transcript:

00:00:01
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast, where Jack and Social take you on a journey from learning the basics to mastering the nuances of the English language. Our podcast is designed for non-native speakers who are looking to improve their English skills in a fun and interactive way. Each episode covers a wide range of topics.
00:00:23
Jack
From grammar and vocabulary to slang and culture to help you navigate the English speaking world with ease.
00:00:35
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I am one of the hosts of the podcast and I’m here with my co-host, social and today we’re going to do a question and we’ll answer the question for you. The question is, are you good in stressful situations or do you?
00:00:54
Jack
Freak out and social. Why don’t you define freak out for our listeners out there in case they don’t know what that means?
00:01:02
Xochitl
Speak out is like completely start panicking and lose your ability to think things through rationally and you kind of become a liability for yourself.
00:01:14
Xochitl
And everyone around.
00:01:15
Xochitl
You in a special.
00:01:18
Jack
Yeah, if you freak out, just lose your lose, your cool. We say in English, right. You kind of, you kind of go crazy, you freak out.
00:01:28
Jack
Let me see here. Are you good in stressful situations or do you do?
00:01:32
Jack
You usually freak out.
00:01:35
Xochitl
I was just thinking about this the other day because I was watching a Netflix show where like their plane crashes into a lake or some like huge lake in Alaska and like.
00:01:47
Xochitl
The guy starts freaking out and ends up like.
00:01:51
Xochitl
Ruining everything by opening the plane door and like the water, all rushes in and like girls, like really feel like she’s had her head on straight.
00:02:01
Xochitl
And keeps thinking rationally and and me personally, I think it probably is going to depend on the situation, but I tend to. I don’t like freeze. I tend to go into action and I was trained that way from an early age because my parents only said.
00:02:23
Xochitl
No one else is gonna. You have to assume that no one else will do anything, so you have to. If you see someone bus or head open on the sidewalk or something, you have to assume that no one else is going to call the ambulance. You need to call the ambulance like you need to get it together. So because my parents kind of really put that in my head.
00:02:36
Jack
Right.
00:02:44
Xochitl
From an early age, I feel.
00:02:46
Xochitl
I it really stuck and I do kind of always like react quickly in a bystander situation or like a personal crisis.
00:02:56
Xochitl
Yeah. I appreciate my parents for that because I learned about the bystander effect in psychology and.
00:03:01
Xochitl
A lot of people.
00:03:01
Xochitl
Will literally just stand by and stare and not do anything.
00:03:04
Jack
Right. What is the? How would you describe the bystander effect? I think that’s a good, good one for our listeners to learn.
00:03:12
Xochitl
Bystander effect is like, let’s say that you see a car crash and the person stumbles out of the car and it’s like bleeding everywhere and there’s a big group of people all staring, but no one is calling the ambulance. No one.
00:03:24
Xochitl
Is coming in.
00:03:24
Xochitl
To help, and the reason for that is because.
00:03:28
Xochitl
We all like there’s a psychological principle.
00:03:30
Xochitl
Where we think someone.
00:03:31
Xochitl
Else is doing it or is going to.
00:03:33
Xochitl
Do it so we kind of freeze collectively.
00:03:37
Jack
Right. Because I think the guy next to me is going to call 911. He thinks I’m going to call 911.
00:03:42
Jack
Or 119 whatever.
00:03:44
Jack
Your country, you’re in and.
00:03:45
Jack
Nobody does it. So it’s like you got.
00:03:47
Xochitl
Yes. And then in two weeks, so they’re all.
00:03:49
Jack
A whole group of people, yeah.
00:03:51
Xochitl
Waiting for someone.
00:03:51
Xochitl
Else to do it, yeah.
00:03:52
Xochitl
Yeah. Hope you’re just standing around.
00:03:54
Xochitl
So how about you, Jack?
00:03:55
Xochitl
Are you good in stressful situations?
00:03:57
Xochitl
Or do you tend to panic?
00:03:58
Jack
I think so. I think I’m. I think I’m pretty good in, in stressful situations. The funny thing is I do suffer from panic. I get panic. I have panic disorder.
00:04:10
Jack
And I I don’t mind sharing that with the the listeners out there. It started, yeah, it started in 2006, but they it never happens in stressful situations. It only happens in like normal situations where we have this.
00:04:13
Xochitl
You get like panic attacks.
00:04:27
Jack
This this expression in English or or condition or whatever we call it fight or flight right? It’s like when you feel actually it’s there’s three right it’s fight freeze or flight.
00:04:39
Jack
And so, in a stressful situation, do you fight, do you, or do you take action? Do you freeze?
00:04:45
Jack
Or do you run away?
00:04:47
Jack
And me, I would get into these, you know, because I I have this condition, I would feel that.
00:04:57
Jack
Fear the the the fight, the the, the fear feeling of the feeling of fear. But it would be just in a normal situation. So. But The funny thing is it’s it’s very odd.
00:05:09
Jack
Or ironic? Is that in really stressful situations?
00:05:15
Jack
I’m actually pretty cool.
00:05:17
Jack
I’m pretty chill. I don’t freak out. Uh, I had a a pretty.
00:05:22
Jack
Big car accident a few years ago.
00:05:25
Jack
And I remember.
00:05:27
Jack
Losing complete control of my car on the freeway, I was hit by a truck.
00:05:32
Jack
And I went.
00:05:33
Jack
All the way across the freeway, sideways and smashed into the retaining wall totaled my car.
00:05:42
발표자
I was pretty.
00:05:44
Jack
Kind of. Just like in shock, but I I I didn’t start screaming or yelling or jump out of my car or run around. I was just very much like, OK, let’s do an assessment. Wear arms and legs. Do I have my arms? Do I have my legs? Yes. Am I in pain? No, I’m not. Dude, I have my seat belt, you know, saved my life.
00:06:04
Jack
All those things I was able to.
00:06:06
Jack
Kind of in that.
00:06:08
Jack
Do an assessment and see where I was and I was actually thinking very clearly. I think maybe it has to do with the adrenaline in your body is it’s kind of allows you to to to it. It’s like a it’s like a shot of energy. And so in that situation I thought I played it pretty cool and so.
00:06:28
Jack
It wasn’t until maybe like one or two hours later, when I kind of freaked out a little bit, but in the moment of stress, I’m actually pretty good. I’m pretty dependable and I take.
00:06:40
Xochitl
Jack, I have kind of a theory and a question related to that theory. Did you grow up like around a lot of stress or like stressful situations and stuff like that? Like, did you?
00:06:54
Jack
Ohh that’s a good question. Uhm, no, actually, you know.
00:06:57
Jack
I grew up in a pretty.
00:07:00
Jack
I’m trying to think like.
00:07:02
Jack
Did I have a lot of stressful situations?
00:07:05
Jack
No, no. I would say I grew up in a pretty sheltered, you know, pretty, pretty, you know, pretty sheltered existence. You know, with the caring parents, you know, they were they they were watching out for us, but they were giving us enough.
00:07:21
Jack
You know, room to invent, you know, find adventure and and have fun. So I didn’t really experience a lot of stress as a young person.
00:07:31
Xochitl
That’s interesting. I definitely feel I experienced like a lot of stress and trauma in my younger years.
00:07:39
Xochitl
And I think that that is why.
00:07:43
Xochitl
I’m like, chill in high stress situations, but kind of also suffer from like anxiety and soul part. And just like normal everyday situations. Because I feel that my brain was primed to see like stress.
00:08:03
Xochitl
And intense situations as normal.
00:08:10
Xochitl
Then whenever I’m in a relaxed, calm environment for too long, I get like really anxious because I think it’s like my brain’s like, OK, where’s what’s?
00:08:20
Xochitl
The danger here?
00:08:22
Xochitl
I think that’s weird.
00:08:22
Jack
That’s funny. I’m the same.
00:08:24
Jack
Way. I’m like we in English. We say I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s like nothing is scarier for me than no crises occurring at any moment. If I’m crisis free.
00:08:38
Jack
Then I’m just in a state of waiting for the next horrible thing to happen, and I’m just waiting. Always, like, OK, what’s things are too good right now? They’re too good. Something bad needs to happen, and it’s it’s just such a like it’s it’s such a a kind of negative way of.
00:08:58
Jack
You know, we just talked about the power of positive thinking.
00:09:00
Jack
I think that’s like the.
00:09:01
Xochitl
Right.
00:09:03
Xochitl
Power of negative thinking and the fact that.
00:09:04
Jack
The power of negative thinking.
00:09:05
Jack
Yeah, like that’s it, it does. It’s just like it’s it and my brain is just, you know, I can’t change it. I’m just, I’m just that way. And so yeah, very simple situations. I’m like, I I have panic. And yet in the most stressful situation, I’m.
00:09:14
Xochitl
Right.
00:09:23
Jack
Cool as a cucumber.
00:09:24
Xochitl
Yeah, it’s like you were expecting that to happen. Yeah. I think there’s, like, a lot that goes into it. I think it can either be that we grew up in a in an environment that was very like tumultuous, which for our listeners who don’t know, it’s like a really chaotic or intense environment.
00:09:42
Xochitl
And I think another thing is that for our survival.
00:09:46
Xochitl
We have, like you know, Caveman brain. Those our brain in a.
00:09:51
Xochitl
Way like we have evolved and developed.
00:09:55
Xochitl
Over hundreds and thousands of years, but at the same time, I think there’s still parts of our brain that are primed to.
00:10:06
Xochitl
Search for danger because we did not always have the kind of comfort that we do now, like the kind of comfortable life or safety that is so widespread these days.
00:10:16
Jack
Yeah. When we lived in the forest or on the Savannah, you know where there were large cats and things like that. You know, our ancient ancestors, it was good to be always on alert. Cause you’re like lying cheetah, you know, like a wild boar.
00:10:35
Jack
We we were the.
00:10:36
Jack
Ones that survived.
00:10:37
Jack
You know, and the the, I think the problem is that we we’re we’re we’re very much like attuned our brains are attuned for a hunter gatherer kind of lifestyle.
00:10:50
Jack
Yeah. And we, but we live in a mode.
00:10:53
Jack
And, you know, comforts, you know, we live in the modern comforts of of modern society. And so.
00:11:01
Xochitl
And I I do.
00:11:02
Xochitl
Think that a lot.
00:11:03
Xochitl
Of the way that our society is structured now, just like leads our anxiety to get worse in a lot of ways because we’re a lot more isolated than previous generations. We have a way more hectic work.
00:11:20
Xochitl
Schedule and life.
00:11:21
Xochitl
Work life balance and previous generations did.
00:11:24
Xochitl
And we exist in a society where we’re all connected to social media constantly, and I’m not one of those social media haters. Oh my God, I don’t like.
00:11:33
Xochitl
People like that, I do.
00:11:35
Jack
Umm, no, I I use it. It’s very.
00:11:37
Jack
Useful for our podcast, you know.
00:11:38
Xochitl
Yes, awareness of all the bad things happening all the time through social media is something that.
00:11:47
Xochitl
Is not good for mental health.
00:11:49
Jack
Yeah, no, I we’re inundated with like, sorry, I’m using big words here. Inundated means we are our minds are filled with images and headlines of all the tragedies across the entire world of which there are many. And I don’t think that’s a healthy thing that we’re. I don’t think we.
00:12:09
Jack
Were supposed to.
00:12:11
Jack
Know everything.
00:12:13
Jack
Everywhere, all at once. You know, it was when I was a kid, it was like, you know, my neighborhood news. That’s what I would get, you know, the newspaper, the local news. Now we just get, like, I can if there’s something bad happens, you know, on the other side of the globe, you know, I hear about it. The.
00:12:33
Jack
Ice caps are are melting the UM, you know, the sea level is rising. There was an earthquake here and a tsunami over there, and a tornado over.
00:12:43
Jack
Here and a hurricane.
00:12:44
Jack
And over there, and it just feels like the world is collapsing and it’s just like maybe it’s always been that way. But there’s we’re just getting more information, and I’m not a climate change denier. I certainly accept climate change here. I just want to make that clear. But I just think that we’re not meant to know everything.
00:13:04
Jack
All at one time.
00:13:05
Xochitl
It can be too stressful, especially when we don’t really have anything we.
00:13:08
Xochitl
Can directly do about it.
00:13:10
Jack
Right.
00:13:10
Xochitl
Yeah, it does get overwhelming.
00:13:14
Xochitl
So yeah, let us know, Jack, what was the?
00:13:19
Jack
No. Yeah, yeah, I’ll. I’ll help you. OK. Our website, our website is A-Z, englishpodcast.com.
00:13:26
Xochitl
No, no, no. What’s the ending? The.
00:13:30
Xochitl
To let us know whether you’re.
00:13:32
Jack
Ohh let us know.
00:13:33
Jack
What you think on our uh, on our our website?
00:13:38
Jack
Is that what you mean?
00:13:38
Xochitl
No, they they what was the original topic?
00:13:44
Jack
Oh, oh, yeah, yeah.
00:13:46
Jack
Yeah. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, OK?
00:13:48
Jack
Oh, yes, so let me help you with that, OK.
00:13:52
Jack
OK.
00:13:53
Xochitl
So funny, you should almost leave. This is funny.
00:13:56
Jack
Well, maybe I will. OK. Yeah. We forgot our topic cause soch and I are, we’d love to chat. Are you good in stressful situations or do you freak out?
00:14:00
Xochitl
Ladies with sloopers?
00:14:06
Xochitl
We both forgot the topic. All right, let’s. Yeah, I’m really laughing, OK?
00:14:08
Jack
You’re freaking out now.
00:14:14
Xochitl
Let us know.
00:14:15
Xochitl
In a comment at A-Z englishpodcast.com.
00:14:19
Xochitl
Shoot us an e-mail or join our WhatsApp group and shoot us an e-mail at AZ englishpodcast@gmail.com and let us know whether you are good in stressful situation or whether you tend to freak out. See you guys.
00:14:30
Xochitl
Next time, bye bye.