Well, you're not alone. More than 53 percent of Americans now have a stake in the stock market either through the outright ownership of stocks or through mutual funds. Until now, more than half of those people had never seen a stock market move in any direction but up.
Seasoned investors know how to handle the bear.
First, they never panic. They know bear markets happen. Stock averages go up and they go down. During the 20th century, bear markets appeared once every three years on average. And they didn't affect every investor.