Human beings, and especially British human beings, are inclined to panic at the most ridiculous things. It’s probably a side-effect of being bombarded with negativity from the media and the news—if something bad could happen, then it probably already has, they tell us. (Maybe. I’m making that up a bit.)

But really, there’s no need to concern yourselves with these things that might actually kill you. Seriously. Allow me to set your mind at rest for a few of these things that typically induce enormous amounts of panic.

The kettle isn’t turning off!

The kettle is boiling and it hasn’t made that familiar, comforting “click” of turning itself off, you say? Well, isn’t that a pickle? Still, it’s unlikely that your kettle will detonate like a bomb if you don’t turn it off manually. In actual fact, it probably will turn itself off after a moment if you just leave it. Or if you’re really that concerned, you can prevent inadvertent kettle detonation by simply turning it off yourself. You’ll find it will stop boiling pretty quickly.

The toilet won’t flush, and it’s not my toilet!

Oh no! You did your business and now you can’t get it to vacate the premises. How embarrassing! Because no-one else ever has a poo, right? You are literally the first person to ever have a poo in someone else’s toilet. And explaining this situation to your hosts will be mortifying.

Never fear. In actual fact, your hosts have probably deduced the fact you were having a poo from the fact that you’ve been in there for more than the few seconds a wee normally takes. Also, you took a magazine and/or your iPhone/Nintendo DS with you. Simply explain to them that their toilet doesn’t appear to be flushing and is there a special trick to it? Chances are if they live with an idiosyncratic toilet, they know how to talk to the toilet pixies and make it do the thing it’s supposed to do.

Someone said a mean thing on the Internet!

You made a valid argument on a subject you feel passionately about, and someone called you a douchebag, whilst not contributing to the discussion at all. There’s a simple solution to this problem: picturing the person who called you a douchebag. They’re probably not a ripped jock with a six-pack who has a bevy of beautiful women satisfying his every sexual need at all times. He’s probably an overweight gentleman with personal hygiene issues and a taste for Cheetos or similar snack foods.

This electrical device that was perfectly fine yesterday isn’t working!

Rather than assuming that it’s “broken” and wailing to the heavens, why not try checking the things that everyone forgets to check? Is it turned on? Plugged in? Is the socket working? Does it need new batteries? Does it need batteries at all?

On the off-chance that it is, in fact, “broken”, consider what your life was like before you had the device in question. Was it significantly worse? If yes, then go get it repaired or buy a new one. If no, then you can probably live without your smoothie-maker/light-up dildo/automatic toilet paper dispenser.

I disagree with your opinion!

It’s okay. Really. That’s why it’s called an “opinion”. Well, it might not technically be the reason that the word “opinion” was chosen. But you are perfectly entitled to have your own opinion on something, and to be able to voice that opinion. You should also be prepared to deal with any consequences for voicing that opinion. If you slag off Call of Duty: Black Ops on the biggest Call of Duty fan site in the world, you’re probably going to get called a douchebag by someone. If you stand naked in the middle of the street yelling “I AM A NAZI!” you will probably get arrested. If you tweet “Crap! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!!” then you will probably get prosecuted.

This online service which I don’t pay anything for isn’t working!

Twitter down? Facebook failing? Reddit “under heavy load”? GO OUTSIDE.

No further questions, y’honor.