![]() Uncertainty can leave us exhausted, as even the simple tasks of everyday life these days require more thought and cause more anxiety. ![]() For covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, “a person might have a cough and a fever, but avoid seeking medical attention.” For instance, the intolerance of uncertainty scale asks people to rate how much they agree with such statements as “uncertainty makes life intolerable” and “my mind can’t be relaxed if I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.” Intolerance of uncertainty is a risk factor for many disorders involving anxiety, from obsessive compulsive disorder to depression, eating disorders and generalized anxiety, Kecmanovic says.īeth Meyerowitz, a professor of psychology and preventive medicine at the University of Southern California who has studied how people cope with the uncertainty that comes with a cancer diagnosis, has found that people with a strong intolerance for uncertainty were more likely to engage in avoidance coping strategies, such as preventing themselves from thinking about or experiencing the feelings they’re having, and that those methods of coping were associated with higher degrees of emotional distress.Īvoidance coping mechanisms can take a lot of energy and prevent the person from developing more effective coping strategies, Meyerowitz says. Psychologists have several tools for measuring how well people handle uncertainty. In a paper published in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience in 2013, Nitschke found in part that a common feature across anxiety disorders is an overactive anticipatory response when faced with unpredictable conditions. In other words, the anticipation of an uncertain threat can be worse than the thing itself. Studies have shown that lab animals consistently prefer predictable shocks to unpredictable ones, he says, and that predictability can ameliorate the negative effects of stress. Uncertainty fuels anxiety, by creating room for the mind to conjure up worst-case scenarios, Nitschke says. And, as Nitschke’s research has shown, that means that if we’re feeling anxious, “the brain is strengthening the neuropathways for anxiety.” Whatever thought patterns we’re having, the brain fortifies the neural pathways (that connect the nervous system’s brain cells) for doing this. “Our brains help us get good at what we’re doing,” he says. Uncertainty can provoke a vicious cycle of anxiety, says Jack Nitschke, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. ![]() “People say, ‘I can’t stand not knowing anything,” she says. ![]() area, like many others, has seen a large uptick in calls from people seeking treatment for anxiety, especially as it has become clear that this is going to be a prolonged situation, not just a little hump to get over. “Uncertainty is fertile ground for anxiety and fear, because you don’t know what’s going to happen.” We don’t naturally like unpredictability, says Jelena Kecmanovic, a clinical psychologist and adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Coping styles also matter - people who react to challenges by planning everything out may struggle when the future is so unpredictable. Whether this prolonged period of uncertainty will leave lasting scars or provide an impetus to better adapt to unpredictable events depends in part on individual circumstances and coping styles - for instance, whether you still have a source of income or you or your loved ones become sick. As it has become clear that the coronavirus pandemic is here for the foreseeable future, we’re all learning to live in a cloud of uncertainty: When can we venture out safely? Visit loved ones? Go to the doctor? Send children back to school? Return to the workplace? Pay our bills? Find a job?įeeling uncertain can provoke anxiety and other unhealthy effects, but at the same time, research shows that people are resilient and can learn to cope and even thrive in times of turmoil. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |