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Feb 17, 2024 · Key points. Having limited or partial knowledge about a situation makes it difficult to control, plan for or predict. Prolonged uncertainty can cause distress and negatively impact our mental,...
Feb 7, 2024 · Explore the benefits of facing uncertainty and some ways to cope with anxiety during moments of change. Plus, how to deal with uncertainty in your life.
Oct 29, 2020 · Suddenly, food, water, clothing, and security become paramount, and recovering and rebuilding can take months to years. Psychological responses to disasters vary, based on people’s life experience,...
- Don’T Resist
- Invest in Yourself
- Find Healthy Comfort Items
- Don’T Believe Everything You Think
- Pay Attention
- Stop Looking For Someone to Rescue You
- Find Meaning in The Chaos
There’s no doubt: We are living through challenging times. But resisting this current reality won’t help us recover, learn, grow, or feel better. Ironically, resistance prolongs our pain and difficulty by amplifying the challenging emotions we are feeling. There is real truth to the aphorism that what we resist persists. There’s an alternative. Ins...
The best resource that you have right now for making a contribution to the world is YOU. When that resource is depleted, your most valuable asset is damaged. In other words: When we underinvest in our bodies, minds, or spirits, we destroy our most essential tools for leading our best lives. We humans don’t do well when we defer maintenance on ourse...
One of the most important ways we can invest in ourselves is to comfort ourselves in healthy ways. If we are to stay flexible, we need to feel safe and secure. When we feel uncertain or insecure, our brain tries to rescue us by activating our dopamine systems. This dopamine rush encourages us to seek rewards, making temptations more tempting. Think...
Perhaps the most essential stress-reduction tactic that anyone has ever taught me is not to believe everything I think. In uncertain times, it’s particularly important not to believe thoughts that argue for the worst-case scenario. It can be helpful for us to consider worst-case scenarios so that we can weigh risks and actively prevent disaster. Bu...
The opposite of uncertainty is not certainty; it’s presence. Instead of imagining a scary and unknown future, we can bring our attention to our breath. From there, we can check in with ourselves. Every time we wash our hands, for example, we could ask ourselves: How are you doing right now? Notice what emotions you are feeling, and where in your bo...
When we act as though we are powerless, we get trapped in narratives that leave us feeling angry, helpless, and trapped. And we start hoping other people will save us from our misery. Although it can feel good when others dote on us, most rescuers don’t really help. Our friends might want to save us—because helping others makes people feel good—and...
Social psychologists define meaning, as it applies to our lives, as “an intellectual and emotional assessment of the degree to which we feel our lives have purpose, value, and impact.” We humans are best motivated by our significance to other people. We’ll work harder and longer and better—and feel happier about the work we are doing—when we know t...
- Sian Ferguson
- Self-awareness. To learn how to tolerate uncertainty, consider cultivating self-awareness. Accepting the fact that you find it hard to deal with things you can’t control can be the first step toward recognizing the specific situations that may cause anxiety.
- Pausing. When your fear of uncertainty rises, try to put a name to it and pause. “I’m feeling anxious about this because I fear this or that.” When you do this, it may allow you to pause and take note of what’s happening and why it’s happening.
- Focusing on the evidence. When making a decision, try to assess the situation from the evidence, not your anxious thoughts. Your anxiety might convince you that the worst-case scenario is not just possible, but likely.
- Not overthinking it. If you don’t tolerate uncertainty, you may be more likely to overthink every decision and do tons of research before even considering it.
Mar 27, 2015 · Many of us struggle with uncertainty, so here are a few things you can do to help manage it. 1) Decide whether an issue is important. Most people feel vulnerable when faced with a threat to their...
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Oct 24, 2017 · Most people are creatures of habit. When things go as planned, we feel in control. But when life throws a curveball, it can leave us feeling anxious and stressed. Findings from APA’s 2024 Stress in America survey highlight ways that uncertainty stresses us out.
