What is uncertainty and why are we so concerned about it?
Uncertainty is the lack of knowledge of what is going to happen, the lack of certainty.
It worries us so much because we human beings have a certain tendency to control. That attitude sometimes benefits us, sometimes it does not.
It is not, for example, in those cases when we perceive, consciously or not, if we will be sufficiently prepared to face the unforeseen, something that can destabilize us. The human being continuously, unconsciously or consciously, tends to question whether he can cope with it. In any case, uncertainty is in life itself and is part of it.
Can uncertainty be incapacitating? What effects does it have on the organism?
Yes, it can be disabling. In the face of uncertainty we can become blocked and respond from different dimensions: mental, emotional and physical.
- Mental: we keep thinking and activating a continuous loop of thoughts about the difficulty, about what we should or could do. Thoughts are focused on worry instead of activation, on taking charge of the situation or getting the resources to face what we perceive as difficult or catastrophic.
- Emotional: fear is the emotion linked to uncertainty and anxiety and worry the states of mind that we create and in which we can become trapped.
- Physical: it generates anxiety problems and increases the level of stress, with the consequences that this brings to our organism, among others: cardiac or dermatological problems, hypertension, obesity, irritable colon or ulcers, immunosuppression.
What are the triggers of uncertainty?
There can be several. For example, as we have said, the tendency as human beings to have everything under control, because we have an anthropocentric vision. We think of ourselves as the center of the world and we do not take into account that we are one element among many other elements. This may be due to the technological and scientific advances of the last 100 years, as we have created an idea of the human being as all-powerful. We have experienced the growth of the individual’s capabilities and created the idea of being able to, and should, control everything around us.
Uncertainty is triggered when something goes beyond our ability to control and we feel destabilized. When we are forced to manage the unexpected and find both internal and external resources to deal with the circumstances.
When we are faced with a difficulty, the concept of self-efficacy comes into play, i.e., how good am I and what resources do I have to get away with it? The idea of self-efficacy is linked to the idea of self-concept, the idea I have of myself. To having a good and positive perception of myself (good self-concept), to knowing what kind of resources I have and how much I think I would be effective in dealing with certain circumstances (perceived self-efficacy).
Uncertainty, the more we have the perception of not being sufficiently capable of dealing with what we do not yet know, the more it will impact, and negatively, on our life. This perception can occur because we have grown up with an idea of ourselves that has been built up as a result of what we have heard said about us in family and school environments. Sometimes during therapy it is discovered that the patient has been a victim of harassment, bullying or family abuse, which has affected his or her personal safety and self-confidence and trust in others. Parents, or adult reference figures, may have had negative communication (“you could have done more”), or continuous comparisons have been made with siblings. Insecurity may also be the result of manipulations activated by some people to whom we have given certain power or recognized certain authority (other family members, friends, partners, classmates).
It may also be due to having experienced traumatic circumstances such as a loss of love, a job loss or lack of professional or school success. Events that can put in crisis the perception of stability, control or comfort.
Can we learn to cope with uncertainty? How?
We have to recognize that we cannot control everything and that uncertainty is part of the dynamics of life itself.
The second step is to begin to know our strengths and weaknesses, to know how to face X situations, to know what we need to learn in order to manage it. Assuming and accepting, at the same time, without self-punishment, the possibility that some resources are not in our hands and that we have certain limits. However, this does not mean that we have to consider ourselves incapable or inferior. On the contrary, it is an important strategy to assume our limitations, to know what we can be good at and what we can be less good at, without this affecting our security, perception of self-efficacy and self-concept.
That is, to accept what we are, but not from a perspective of resignation or victimhood (“poor me”), but from proactivity and what is possible within what is.
We can ask ourselves these questions:
- What am I going to do with what I have?
- How am I going to do it?
- When am I going to do it?
- What am I going to do it for?
- And what more do I need to do it?
There are people who have developed a good capacity for resilience and know how to face uncertainty on their own. There are others who have some difficulty in discovering the talents and resources they have that they do not know or cannot see. Therapy with specialists in Psychology can be a very useful resource to help recognize one’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as to increase the sense of personal security. At the same time, we can learn to face the unexpected or the unknown without it impacting our psychological and physical health, such as the symptoms mentioned above. Therefore, it is necessary to feel empowered, calm and confident to be able to move forward even if it is not always so easy, even if it costs us a lot of work and sacrifices.
It should be noted that the use of drugs may be necessary to accompany the therapy. However, by themselves they do not help to empower us to deal with uncertainty. They are only palliative of symptoms and may, in some cases, be necessary to make psychotherapy more bearable and more effective.