Wild horse effect - Story of a day

 

On a thrilling, cloudy morning in Mumbai, the skies opened up with heavy rains, declaring it a perfect “rainy-day” at school. Since the school was closed and the office was open, we had to make a decision. Due to our prior commitment, we decided to leave the kids at home with clear instructions, a mobile phone, and plenty of food. We felt confident they would use this vacant-home feeling with little adventure at home!

However, as the day progressed, the rain underwent a drastic change, and there were alerts for flooding. And on top of this, the phone calls to home went unanswered.

My heart sank.

After the fifth call went unanswered, I began my worry-filled journey back home. I asked my neighbour to check in, and she also rang the doorbell, but no one answered. My taxi driver was hesitant to take the main road due to severe waterlogging and dropped me about 2 km away from home.

I was in such a state of panic that I didn’t even think about the potholes or bumpy roads. I just went for it and ended up splashing through the water on the road, even though I can’t swim at all! The feeling of relief only came when I finally made it home.

The kids were stuck in the room because of a jammed door, which is why they did not answer the phone or could not open the main door. They were playing their game. When I asked them “Were you afraid?” they simply said, “Mumma! We tried to open the door, but we were stuck. But we knew you guys would come in 3-4 hours, so we were not worried.”

Later on, checking the messages, I found that my neighbor and friend in the colony had already checked the status of the kids through the window. And they made sure the kids didn't panic.

Thankfully, everyone was safe. Later, I thought about how the incident had affected me. Overdrenching led to fever, the tension gave me shivering, and the panic still hits me whenever I think about that day

I was under the wild horse effect.

The "Wild Horse Effect" in psychology describes how sometimes, a person's over-the-top emotional or behavioral response to a small thing can end up causing more trouble than the original stimulus itself.

Drawing inspiration from African wild horses, which can panic at the bite of a vampire bat, this phenomenon teaches us an important lesson about human nature. It shows how small events, which we might see as minor problems, can lead to strong emotional reactions that cloud our judgment. Just like wild horses might stampede and exhaust themselves over a seemingly trivial event, we can also let small issues grow into big crises. This idea about overreacting serves as a warning. If we let our feelings spiral out of control, we can hurt ourselves and cause unnecessary distress.

That missed promotion, missed opportunity, or loss of money in stock, the lost competition, or even the minor dent in the car — we tend to overthink many things. The event has come and gone, but we keep replaying the chaos in our minds.

My reflection led to the following conclusions (which I read somewhere): 

Life is often 90% about how we react to 10% of what happens to us. By not letting external chaos or minor issues into our mind, we can avoid unnecessary stress and worries. By looking at the bird's eye scenario of any event and detaching ourselves, we can be braver and smarter.

Do you have any personal story about the Wild Horse effect.