It's the start of global Armageddon! Stock Markets around the world are in financial meltdown. It is time to sell all of your investments, pack the wife and dog in the car, ensure the shotgun is clean and functional, and head for the hills.

Okay, I may be being a little bit alarmist here, but there is definitely the smell of panic in the air - at least in the financial press which generally take a short-term view.

Hardly a week seems to go by without a bold headline, announcing that another £50bn has been wiped off the Stock Market, and that the financial system is in a state of crisis. These shocks are not rare events, but they make great headlines. However, let's get things into perspective here. When was the last time you turned on the TV to news that the Stock Market had risen by £50bn?

It did on August 17, when the FTSE 100 Index rocketed by four per cent in one day, wiping out losses incurred the previous day. Remember, good news is rarely reported. It is true that the FTSE 100 Index has "corrected" by about ten per cent in recent weeks, however, it has only fallen back to where it was in March.

It is also true that no investors like to see good profits evaporate over a short time period, but it is hardly a disaster, is it? Similar "world ending experiences" occurred in late February, and also in May last year, only for confidence to be quickly restored. Are things different this time? Who knows, hence why markets are so nervous.

Experienced investors know that share prices can be very volatile over short time periods, and investing is about time and not timing. There is no person in the world who can predict which way share prices will move over the short term. If there was, they would be very rich.

The ability to keep one's cool during short-term setbacks is probably the most important attribute an investor can have. Shares, can after all, be a risky asset class. This is why the investment community preaches about the importance of having a well diversified and balanced portfolio of investments. It would not be uncommon for even the most growth orientated, higher risk investor, to have at least some of their assets in bonds and cash.

Bonds can provide an element of stability during turbulent times. Cash provides, amongst other things, longer term investors with the firepower to snap up shares in good companies at bargain prices, on days when markets fall heavily.

With shares in some companies now looking attractive following recent declines, many company directors and investment managers who follow the maxim that investing is about time not timing, are now buying this market.

If you are a short-term investor unwilling to lock up your money in shares for at least three years, now is a very dangerous time to "play the market". It is not the volatility you should be worried about. It is the tendency for all humans to make irrational decisions.

Remember, investing is about time and not timing. If the current short-term gyrations of the Stock Market are keeping you awake at night, you should probably not have invested in it in the first place.

* Mark McMullen is an investment manager in the Teesside office of Wise Speke, and can be contacted on 01642-608855. Views expressed are the author's own and are not necessarily held throughout the Brewin Dolphin Group. Wise Speke is a division of Brewin Dolphin Securities Ltd, a member of the London Stock Exchange, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Prices, values or income may fall against investors' interests. You should be aware that you may get less back than you invested. Investments may not always be suitable for all individuals. If you have any doubts, you should consult a professional advisor.