H.P. Lovecraft claimed that humanity's oldest, strongest emotion is "fear," and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. Lovecraft understood that the human brain is uniquely vulnerable to uncertainty and has borne out decades of psychological study.
There is evidence that an inability to handle ambiguity is a key characteristic of most anxiety disorders and that the kinds of "catastrophic interpretations" that fuel panic attacks are stoked by skepticism.
Some scholars have also suggested that fear of the unknown is the bedrock fear faced by human beings, the one that gives rise to all other fears, and that the ability of a person to weather unpredictable times is a fundamental characteristic of a strong, resilient mind.
There are lessons to be learned from the research on ambiguity, including some useful ways of defanging it, as the world grapples with the Lovecraftian nightmare that is the Covid-19 pandemic and as the patterns and routines of American life are forever interrupted.
Meanwhile, Michelle Newman, PhD, director of the Laboratory for Anxiety and Depression Research at the Pennsylvania State University, said some people could sit with uncertainty and let go of it.
However, Newman said others react differently to uncertainty. And if it's out of one's control that you're concerned about, she said worrying doesn't solve much.
How Uncertainty Agitates And Unsettles One's Mind
People made bets in several gambling situations during a 2011 study published in the journal Behavior Therapy. People may opt for either bad odds and a low payout or better odds and a higher payout in one of those scenarios.
The catch: If they chose the crummy bet, they would instantly discover its result; if they preferred the better odds and payoff, if they had won, they would have to wait for an unknown amount of time before learning.
Everyone did not take favorable chances and greater payout. For others, the elimination of the waiting and uncertainty factor made the bad bet attractive.
The authors of that study wrote in their paper that higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty were correlated with a propensity to prefer the immediately available, but less valuable and less likely rewards.
"A lot of the research has shown that people who are uncomfortable with uncertainty are more likely to be anxious and are more likely to make choices that in the long run will benefit them less, just because [those choices] resolve the uncertainty," Newman says.
A person's view on life plays a part here. The result is just as likely to be positive as negative in conditions of uncertainty. But even though such situations are farfetched, Newman says, people who are uncomfortable with ambiguity prefer to fixate on negative or worst-case scenarios.
The second reason that worriers give is that they are trying to brace themselves for a bad occurrence or outcome, mentally and emotionally. This technique, however, is also counterproductive.
"When your brain tags something as negative or a source of worry, it becomes more vigilant for reminders or cues associated with that [negative thing]," says Tor Wager, PhD, a distinguished professor in neuroscience at Dartmouth College.
So if you're worried about winning an election with the wrong candidate, you'll tend to read or watch or listen to any sources of knowledge about that case. Not only that, but Wager says you're also going to gravitate towards knowledge that appears to boost your suspicions or help them.
Knocking Out The Effects of Uncertainty
None of this is to suggest that, during times of uncertainty, worrying about disappointing results or even imagining worst-case scenarios is often unhelpful. Poor stuff does happen. Anticipating them may assist a person to escape any or all of the fallout.
How do individuals achieve balance and feel comfortable amid uncertainty?
Mindfulness
Newman claims that mindfulness training can be beneficial. She says worrying is all about the future. According to her, being mindful takes us away from what's going on now. Being in the moment and enjoying the moment, which is a component of consciousness, can keep us from thinking about what could or may not happen. Mindfulness can also help people identify when their mind is engaging in unhelpful worrying, and it can help them flag habits that appear to encourage those concerns.
Distract Your Thoughts
Another solution to confusion management: distract the mind with something else. The brain is either forming new neural links or reinforcing existing ones depending on what we spend our time doing, says Jack Nitschke, PhD, a psychologist and associate professor at the School of Medicine and Public Health of the University of Wisconsin.
"Most of us waste our time doing things that we would prefer not to do differently, such as thinking about the future," he said.
Engaging your brain with things that take your mind off your problems and foster happier, healthy thinking habits. Talking to friends, listening to music, having some exercise, cooking a favorite dish, or streaming a funny show, may minimize the time your brain might otherwise spend mired in anxiety-fueled states of confusion.
Nitschke adds, "You want to create neural links that endorse positive behaviors, not negative behaviors."
It has been said that the only certain thing in life is confusion, that change is one constant of life. One of the most useful skills an individual may cultivate may be the capacity to embrace and withstand ambiguity.
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