How to reduce anxiety and fear of uncertainty

How do you react to uncertainty? Do you find it difficult to deal with decision making when you are not in complete control or certainty of the outcome? Or tolerate not knowing what will happen?

Training your ability to deal with uncertainty by reducing its impact on your well-being and influence on unwanted behaviors can help.

The first step is to recognize changes in your usual mood and routine: perhaps you feel more irritable, down, restless, less sleepy or more hungry. You can record when you notice it to gain greater awareness.

Secondly, try to detect what is going through your mind at that moment that you are feeling discomfort: thoughts, verbalized fears, beliefs, images of the future appear and also write them down.

Then, the situation that is generating it... or the possible situations. Sometimes it is not so clear why we feel differently or badly lately. Try to associate those emotions and negative thoughts with the situation to which they refer.

Finally, ask yourself the questions or apply the ideas that I leave you below. This helps to listen to what that emotion or thought is telling us and to be able to give it a release. After all, these internal contents are valuable information for us. Likewise, answering our doubts and fears allows us to change the perspective and prepare ourselves for the possible resulting scenarios in advance:

• Think about multiple scenarios: What if...? ; what if nothing happens?; what if everything happens?; what if instead of... happens...?; What can I do?; What do I need?; how would I cope?...

• Listen to your emotions: ask yourself: what do I want to do now? What do I need and I can do for myself? cry, yell, move vigorously, stretch my body...Look for things that help to connect with your feelings like music and release them trough useful channels like writing, dancing, walking, exercising, talking...

• If your mind doesn't stop, just let it be. Drop what you're doing and take 5 minutes to write down what's popping up in your head.

• Refresh your skills: think about difficult situations from your past. How did you manage to overcome them? What personal skills have helped you? or who was helpful? Remember how you felt, what you previously expected, and how it all turned out.

And if you think that the situation is overwhelming you and you can't handle it on your own, seek support and professional help.