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Understanding the Stages of Panic and Inertia That Arise When Facing Difficulties and Obstacles in Life · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  Both panic and inertia are responses to situations that
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  arise in the life of individuals.
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  They come about when something new or unexpected comes forward
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  to challenge the individual. In the case of panic, there is
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  clearly a perception of danger and the rising of fear in the
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  being. This drives the individual into
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  what is generally regarded to be a manifestation of the fight or
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  flight reaction. There is no thought involved.
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  It is a reaction of the vital being that drives the
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  individual's response to the situation.
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  Depending on how the vital being responds, one can see either the
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  predominance of the rajasic impulse or the tamasic reaction.
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  With respect to inertia. There is a falling back into
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  tamas, particularly if the vital being is overwhelmed and feels
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  powerless to achieve any positive result in a situation.
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  The vital being is stunned and exhibits a form of vital
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  paralysis and essentially gives up.
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  Inertia is a classic symptom of the predominance of Thomas and
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  is considered to be a major element of the physical
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  consciousness. For the most part, these initial
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  stages of response to something new, unexpected and potentially
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  harmful are almost automatic reactions or instinct driven
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  reactions that do not involve clear and deliberate review and
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  decision making which come in later stages.
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  Dr. de Lal notes Quote It is interesting to note that the
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  psychiatrist Karl Menninger, in describing the behaviour of
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  human beings when faced with difficulties and obstacles in
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  life, employs concepts which are analogous to the concepts of
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  yoga psychology mentioned above. There are, says Meninger, 5
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  stages in man's response to life crises.
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  Panic, inertia, striving, coping, mastery.
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  Panic, a characteristic of the vital consciousness, is often
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  the first reaction to stress, because in most human beings the
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  vital is the predominant part of the nature.
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  Inertia, which is the chief characteristic of the physical
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  consciousness, may precede the stage of panic, as in the case
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  of individuals who, dominated by the physical consciousness, lead
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  a life of apathy until they are goaded by a dire difficulty
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  which throws them into a state of panic.
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  But the state of inertia often follows upon that of panic when
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  an individual, paralysed by an overwhelming difficulty, resigns
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  himself to it or tries to escape from it.
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  In terms of yoga psychology, such an individual, normally
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  living predominantly in the vital consciousness, temporarily
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  regresses as a result of stress to a state dominated by the
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  physical consciousness. However, sooner or later, the
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  majority of individuals recover, at least to some extent, from
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  the initial reactions of panic and inertia and learn to
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  confront and combat their difficulties, thus entering the
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  stage of striving. End Quote reference.
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  Srioro, Bindu and the Mother. Looking from within.
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  Introduction by Doctor Dalal Page Roman 8.