Our overreaction epidemic

REACTING HAS BECOME OUR DEFAULT—WE POUNCE, panic, and amplify distress rather than pause and regulate.

- BY MARC BRACKETT

A teenager posts a selfie and spirals when it doesn’t get enough likes; a parent reads a critical email from a colleague and assumes their career is at risk; a friend scrolls social media and erupts over a post that wasn’t even meant for them.

These quick escalations reflect what I have termed an overreaction epidemic: small triggers snowball into outsize emotional responses. Perhaps predictably, the response has been extreme. After a piece I wrote about the topic ran on TIME’s website, thousands of people messaged me and commented at me on social media. Many accused me of being tone-deaf. Some argued I was asking people to “calm down” while fascism rises. “Imagine the layers of privilege it takes to gaslight people into thinking they are overreacting,” stated one critic.

Others have pushed back in the opposite direction, insisting our constant state of panic is unsustainable. As one person put it, “You can’t fight for what’s right if you’re so emotionally decimated that you're living your day-to-day in fight-or-flight mode.” Another countered: “We are not overreacting—we’re underreacting.”

All of these perspectives hold truth. And their passion highlights why we need a deeper, clearer conversation about what emotion regulation is—and just as important, what it isn’t. Let's be clear: anger, fear, and grief are not weaknesses. They’re evidence of caring. But the solution to the overreaction epidemic is emotion regulation—which will be vitally important to address our global challenges ahead.

EMOTION REGULATION IS a set of intentional, learned skills for managing feelings wisely. At its core, it’s about choosing responses that reflect our goals and values. This can include calming ourselves down before a meeting, reframing a negative thought, or expressing frustration constructively with a loved one. But no matter the emotion, emotional regulation keeps us in the driver's seat.