When pressed…

When pressed….  What do you do?!   Pressed for time, pressed for an answer, pressed for money, pressed for justification.  It doesn’t matter what we’re pressed for, we tend to go into panic mode, which, for humans, is ‘flight or fight’ mode.  And why the extreme stance? Because our archicortex, our ‘ancient’ brain is still very much with us, protecting us from attack, displacement, and even annihilation, and comes to the fore when we feel threatened, regardless of the source and possible consequence. Why?  Because as humans, we are hard-wired to survive: to survive hunger, attack, discomfort, torture, and so much else that our minds and bodies can endure, but our minds take much longer to process as to the reasons we are required to do so. Of course, sometimes the most attractive action is the ‘flight’ mode:  to flee the situation at hand, but, of course, this is not often possible. Horses are definitively ‘flight or fight’ animals, equipped with the means to quickly exit the scene physically, or, if pressed in close quarters, with striking or kicking hooves, to hopefully drive off the attack. Humans, however, are often pressed to make quick decisions without the means to physically drive off the attack.  A grocery bill. Or a tax lien. House payments or car payments that have been put off because an emergency presented itself…but still the debt remains, and demands to be paid. Now. What to do? If possible, reach out to family, who may be able to help. Or, if not, where to turn? Flight seems so attractive, just to escape the ‘now’ of the situation. To fly free, debt free, of the demands at hand. But. Not. Possible. This is when people begin to break down, to turn to crime, to simply ‘disappear’…  Not particularly that they wanted this, but it seemed the only option, the only thing they actually could do. And it’s easy to give what seems— to us not in these situations—obvious solutions, of reaching out to various charitable organizations, asking for money, or time, or even ideas on how we can fix the situation, repay the debt, create the opportunity we need. And I don’t have an answer.

While to some, the obvious response is not to put yourself in these situations to begin with, to so many, the ‘situations’ themselves have put hope and possibility at the forefront of ‘getting ahead,’ rather than opening doors through action; of putting oneself in the position of being able to take advantage of things readily available to put a person in a better position to leap ahead.  But do we all have these advantages? Do we all have a high school or college education? No. Do we all have families ready, willing, and able to help? No. Do we all have friends and colleagues that can help us? No. So what now?