Seven: Uncertainty

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a complex condition.  That said, the single most important factor to be managed is the inability to tolerate uncertainty.  Fear of an escalating ‘what if’ can drive a person to panic or despair. 

Uncertainty involves a preoccupation with minor details.  This preoccupation can assert itself as an obsession.  People enduring a period of uncertainty focus on what are deemed unfixable worries.  When they cannot arrive at an acceptable solution, they experience agitation and distress.  

The first thing to do when caught up in this state is to realize that uncertainty is the cause of the distress.  Bringing rationale into focus instead of runaway emotions creates an immediate level of calm.  The height of anxiety is lowered to a more endurable threshold.  Once a person has come this far, focusing on the present can lessen the feeling of threat even further.  ‘Be here now’ is a current catch phrase.  Realize that nothing is happening at this moment.  Then, when the stress of ‘what if’ is under control, perhaps at a later date, examine the problem logically.    

For example, the illness of a loved one can be a very uncertain time.  The possibility of a negative outcome sets off a chain reaction of worries.  The stress of the situation can become unbearable.  Realizing that uncertainty is magnifying the natural concern one is feeling prevents panic-filled thoughts.  Taking measures to self-soothe, such as having chamomile tea, going outside for a change of scene, and generally removing one’s self mentally and emotionally from the projected fearful future one has concocted works to establish calm. 

Increasing tolerance of uncertainty is a training process like any other.  Self-awareness, correction of erroneous beliefs about worry, better ways to analyze problems, and careful cognitive exposure or thinking about a problem are the necessary steps.

As we think, so it shall be.

Happiness