There are only two days left until Friday, the supposed "doomsday" according to one interpretation of the ancient Mayan calendar. While most banter and tell jokes about the impending "apocalypse," there are distraught people awaiting, preparing for, or taking radical actions before the end of the world.

After the recent school attack case in Guangshan, Henan Province, local police revealed that according to their initial investigations, the knife-wielding suspect had been strongly affected by doomsday predictions. Amid their crackdown on bizarre rumors of the forthcoming apocalypse, the Chinese authorities in five areas have detained 52 people for spreading these rumors.

"Doomsday panic" may sound far-fetched since science and human civilization have brought us forward to this day. But authorities in various countries have realized the necessity of ending doomsday talk.

NASA published a video on its website last week, in which scientists explain why the world won't end in 2012. In some parts of Russia, panicked people stripped shelves of tinned meat, cereals, sugar, candles and boxes of matches. The Russian minister for Emergency Situations has announced to the public that he has access to "methods of monitoring what is occurring on planet Earth." In the French town of Bugarach, believed to be the last safe place on earth, police are on high alert in preparation for the sudden influx of people.

In contrast to blind faith, the panic seems more linked to the feelings of anxiety permeating many societies.

The end-of-day talk mirrors people's concerns and sense of uncertainty. In the West, which is witnessing stagnant economic development and high unemployment, more than a few young people who lack enthusiasm for their lives, are going on shopping sprees in the name of a "doomsday carnival."

China is witnessing social anxiety in the current stage of transformation too. According to a global poll conducted by Ipsos Global Public Affairs, among 16,262 adults in 21 countries in May, the Chinese top the global list for believing in doomsday prophecies - 20 percent of Chinese respondents believe in the foretold doom, way above the average level of 10 percent across the world.

Extreme actions like the panic-buying of candles in some parts of China, just like the rush on purchases of salt after the Japanese earthquake in 2011, reveal the Chinese vulnerability to alarmist news. Sociologists have repeatedly said that the Chinese citizens should have a better sense of humor and live more at ease.

The doomsday panic, to a certain degree, is a global symptom of stressful lifestyles. The doomsday rhetoric will be quelled as the sun rises as usual on Saturday morning. But the prevailing anxiety will not vanish with it.