Calm in the Face of Uncertainty
With the world in the grip of a global pandemic, we are living in extremely uncertain times. Let’s face it, many of our respective comfort blankets have been stripped away from us, and for many that uncertainty can be difficult to cope with.
- You may feel worried right now.
- You may struggle to keep anxious thoughts in balance
- And quite understandably you may feel unsure about the future.
Help, though, is always at hand – for you CAN learn to live with uncertainty and create calm in the face of this uncertainty
Facing Uncertainty is Worse than Facing Physical Pain
As fear of a thing is often greater than the thing itself. …
You might like to know about a study from a few years ago which demonstrated that the uncertainty of something bad happening can be more stressful than the knowledge of something bad happening. *** (See source below)
In 2016, a group of London researchers explored how people react to being told they will either “definitely” or “probably” receive a painful electric shock. They discovered an intriguing paradox. Volunteers who knew they would definitely receive a painful electric shock felt calmer and were measurably less agitated than those who were told they only had a 50 percent chance of receiving the electric shock.
Researchers recruited 45 volunteers to play a computer game in which they turned over digital rocks that might have snakes hiding underneath. Throughout the game, they had to guess whether each rock concealed a snake. When a snake appeared, they received a mild, painful electric shock on the hand.
Over the course of the game they got better about predicting under which rocks they’d find snakes, however the game was designed to keep changing the odds of success to maintain ongoing uncertainty.
When we are facing outcomes filled imbued with uncertainty, it is the possibility that something bad might happen that “gets” us. The volunteers’ level of uncertainty correlated to their level of stress. So, if someone felt “certain” he or she would find a snake, stress levels were significantly lower than if they felt that maybe they would find a snake. In both cases, they received a shock, however their stress was loaded with added uncertainty.
Archy de Berker from the UCL Institute of Neurology said: “Our experiment allows us to draw conclusions about the effect of uncertainty on stress. It turns out that it is much worse not knowing you are going to get a shock than knowing you definitely will or won’t.”
Uncertainty Ignites our Primitive Survival Instinct.
If we cannot neutralise a perceived threat, then we engage in the unhelpful process called “worry”. We grapple with whatever the problem is to find solutions to the threat; however here are none.
- Does this make us feel better?
- Of course it doesn’t –
- It makes us feel worse.
In our need for certainty, we are wired to “catastrophise” – we view or talk of a situation as worse than it actually is. This leads to worry, which in turn leads to anxiety. The modern brain struggles to distinguish between real threat and perceived threat. The result is that the primitive brain takes over and triggers the primitive survival instinct – fight-or-flight.
It asks questions:
- What is going to happen…?
- What is around the corner for me…?
- Should I be doing more…?
- Should I be doing less…?
- What if my business is threatened…?
- What if my livelihood is threatened…?
- What if my life is threatened…?
The potential lack of answers can lead to:
- Anger
- Aggression
- Frustration
- Even depression
So What Can You Do to Create Calm in the Face of Uncertainty?
There are a number of things we can do to lessen the effects of uncertainty:
- Awareness is your superpower – be aware of your feelings and emotions
- Notice the “worry story” you are telling yourself – try to distance yourself from it
- Focus on breathing – long slow breaths
- Recognise the need to rise above fight-or-flight
- Accept uncertainty – allow yourself to stop the struggle Stand up to Anxiety with Some Mood-Boosters
- Exercise and movement
- Achievement-oriented activity
- Doing something pleasant or fun
- Being grounded and present
- AND MEDITATION or SELF-HYPNOSIS
Often spending just 15 minutes a day in meditation or self-hypnosis, and focussing on yourself, will help you regain a sense of balance and help you to create Calm in the Face of Uncertainty
The more you practice as many of these strategies as you can though, then the better you will become!
To help you with relaxing and letting go, check out my free download here
Love
Doug x
*** Source: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2016/mar/uncertainty-can-cause-more-stress-inevitable-pain
