Dealing With Uncertainty

As I approach graduation, moving back home, dental school applications, and life in general; there is a lot of uncertainty. Uncertainty will always be present but it becomes a problem once it turns into anxiety, and anxiety sucks. Anxiety is mainly caused from us being mentally in the future, trying to predict what could happen. Since our brain favors negative thinking, this mental rabbit hole can turn for the worse and then lead to full blown anxiety. The way to prevent anxiety is to be present. Thus here are some tactics I been using to help me deal with uncertainty and anxiety.

Mindsets:

1. The only thing that will be Certain is Uncertainty
   • Knowing this and acknowledging this has been great for me. Understanding that uncertainty will always be present has removed a good amount of stress for me. As yes, bad things may happen, good things are equally likely to happen. I am a big proponent of positive thinking and I try to be optimistic about the future, and about uncertainty. Even though I don’t know what is going to happen I try to think that everything will workout for the best.
2. Worrying is Useless
   • I used to think that worrying about the future or thinking about it constantly would help me out, but honestly it just leads to more panic. I agree that thinking about the future should be done but it should be done with clarity and a calm mind, and not while you are internally freaking out. When we are anxious or in a panic state, we start to see things in black or white, and this is because our fight or flight response kicks in. The goal of the fight or flight response is to allow you to make quick decisions in the moment, and cut out all the pondering that is normally associated with a decision. Fight and flight is good when we are running away from (rip) Harambe, but not when we are trying to sleep. Thus when we are thinking about the future we want to be in a calm state in order to assure the best decisions will be made.
3. You will never know what will happen
   • We know nothing about the future and what will happen next. We can try predicting, we can try using a crystal ball, or religion to see what will happen but at the end of the day we don’t know. We don’t even know what will happen in the next 10 minutes. What life has shown me is that anything can happen, and even if I have an entire day planned out, a homie will hit me up and boom, I’m going to Coachella.

Activities:

1. Fitness
   • Fitness has been a big help when it comes to uncertainty/anxiety. Working out and running force me to be present and when I am benching or running a lap my mind and body is solely focused on the present, because if not I could get injured. Fitness has also helped me burn off excess mental energy. Thus at the end of the day when I’m sleeping, instead of ruminating on past mistakes from the 5th grade, I just knock out.
2. Giving myself time to Think
   • Giving myself time to think has been a game changer. This can be done through walking, biking, showering, or journaling. This is best done without any stimulation and being alone, where you just let your mind wander and deal with it. Most of us try to run away from our thoughts by using, for example, TikTok, substances, video games, or work. Thus when you trying to sleep or have idle time your mind just burst open and all the thought come at once. In the beginning all your worst thoughts may come out and it may be difficult to deal with, so take your time with it.

As always, thanks for reading and letting me help you become a better you!