To be fair. I was frustrated 5 mins ago. Needed a break. The phrase ‘calm down’ in this meme made me crack a smile and I actually did calm. So in a weird backwards way it actually worked.
it depends on why you’re not calm, if it’s not due to anger then being told to calm down might work, and if it’s fear then having someone calmly say “hey hey calm down, it’s ok” will work by sheer dint of seeing someone else obviously not being bothered
it helps for the situations it’s actually evolved for: running from a fucking lion that burst out of the bush
the whole point is that without having to consciously decide to, you start running or fighting and doing so with full force thanks to all the adrenaline, then after you’ve run away or made the nasty thing run away you can analyze the situation and do damage control
Can’t think of a situation where ‘calm down’ is a constructive thing to say
Emergency situations. There are others. Just because you think all your emotions are valid doesn’t mean they are helpful to those around you.
Jokes aside, I know there’s many situations where you should help someone to calm down. What I mean is that phrase won’t achieve that.
To be fair. I was frustrated 5 mins ago. Needed a break. The phrase ‘calm down’ in this meme made me crack a smile and I actually did calm. So in a weird backwards way it actually worked.
Calm down
Calm down.
Constructive
I mean, I’m prone to spiralling occasionally and having someone call it out can help ground me, but ymmv
it depends on why you’re not calm, if it’s not due to anger then being told to calm down might work, and if it’s fear then having someone calmly say “hey hey calm down, it’s ok” will work by sheer dint of seeing someone else obviously not being bothered
When my toddler is over excited and bouncing around too enthusiastically and is about to hurt himself. It seems to work OK to ask him to calm down.
That’s one specific situation from my life, since you seemed to imply you were looking for an example.
has panic ever actually helped? Staying calm is generally a good idea
it helps for the situations it’s actually evolved for: running from a fucking lion that burst out of the bush
the whole point is that without having to consciously decide to, you start running or fighting and doing so with full force thanks to all the adrenaline, then after you’ve run away or made the nasty thing run away you can analyze the situation and do damage control
It sometimes works with our neurotic dog.