13 hrs agoLiked by Erman Misirlisoy, PhD, Dr. Selda Koydemir
I really like the idea of learning to stay on top of uncertainty rather than letting it climb on top of us. Not that it's easy, but it's much healthier than either avoiding or ruminating. Thank you for this post.
It's a challenging balancing act at times, but greater awareness and care around your habits and thought processes really helps. Thank you for reading!
Sep 18Liked by Erman Misirlisoy, PhD, Dr. Selda Koydemir
It's surprising to me that there is not more mainstream awareness of the connection between anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty. Keep up the good work in not only highlighting the connection but providing actionable tools.
Thanks for the kind comments, Jeff! My own feelings of anxiety are frequently driven by an aversion to the feeling of not knowing what's coming. And like you say, awareness of the link is not widespread, so I was excited to come across this study.
Sep 18Liked by Erman Misirlisoy, PhD, Dr. Selda Koydemir
Thanks for this article. I've found a mindful approach to ambigious situations very useful. But i find finding the silver lining a bit diffiuclt sometimes. Sounds like it's effective though. What do you recommend for getting better at finding the positive in the midst of negative?
My perspective on this is that if a mindful approach works well for you, I would stick with it, especially since the evidence suggests it's the most effective strategy available.
I've met a lot of people who have the opposite problem to you—they find mindfulness difficult but reframing easier. For them, the trick is to find simple, natural, and obviously true positive interpretations rather than drifting toward things that they don't truly believe or accept.
Just to give one personal example, I used to feel very anxious about the uncertainty involved in traveling. I would try to reframe this with interpretations such as, "I'll learn so many new exciting things" or "I'll experience this interesting culture", but those interpretations never truly resonated with me and I'd always return to anxiety quickly. Thinking much smaller really helped me: "I can't wait to try that cool coffee shop near the hotel". Since I love coffee shops, that was an easy, effective, and self-evident belief to remind myself about whenever I'd start to feel worried about new environments. I didn't have to "make myself believe it".
Hope that helps somewhat, but of course, your journey will look very different to mine so please do what works for you!
I really like the idea of learning to stay on top of uncertainty rather than letting it climb on top of us. Not that it's easy, but it's much healthier than either avoiding or ruminating. Thank you for this post.
It's a challenging balancing act at times, but greater awareness and care around your habits and thought processes really helps. Thank you for reading!
It's surprising to me that there is not more mainstream awareness of the connection between anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty. Keep up the good work in not only highlighting the connection but providing actionable tools.
Thanks for the kind comments, Jeff! My own feelings of anxiety are frequently driven by an aversion to the feeling of not knowing what's coming. And like you say, awareness of the link is not widespread, so I was excited to come across this study.
Thanks for sharing Erman’s and your opinions on the subject. Important and useful.
I appreciate the feedback, Bo. Thank you for reading!
Thank you both for the post. It's an important topic. We need to teach our kids how to deal with uncertainty.
Definitely with you on teaching young people becoming more comfortable with discomfort, Jonathan. I wish I learned it years ago.
Totally agree and thank you for your comment!
Thanks for this article. I've found a mindful approach to ambigious situations very useful. But i find finding the silver lining a bit diffiuclt sometimes. Sounds like it's effective though. What do you recommend for getting better at finding the positive in the midst of negative?
My perspective on this is that if a mindful approach works well for you, I would stick with it, especially since the evidence suggests it's the most effective strategy available.
I've met a lot of people who have the opposite problem to you—they find mindfulness difficult but reframing easier. For them, the trick is to find simple, natural, and obviously true positive interpretations rather than drifting toward things that they don't truly believe or accept.
Just to give one personal example, I used to feel very anxious about the uncertainty involved in traveling. I would try to reframe this with interpretations such as, "I'll learn so many new exciting things" or "I'll experience this interesting culture", but those interpretations never truly resonated with me and I'd always return to anxiety quickly. Thinking much smaller really helped me: "I can't wait to try that cool coffee shop near the hotel". Since I love coffee shops, that was an easy, effective, and self-evident belief to remind myself about whenever I'd start to feel worried about new environments. I didn't have to "make myself believe it".
Hope that helps somewhat, but of course, your journey will look very different to mine so please do what works for you!