Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Tolerating Uncertainty
Individuals with anxiety are more often to experience intolerance to uncertainty, which means not knowing what might happen in the future may produce worrying about potential negative outcomes. There are three situations that can activate worry: unpredictable situations when the outcome is unclear (e.g., waiting for results of a medical test), novel situations that are new (e.g., starting a new job), and ambiguous situations where the situation is not well-defined (e.g., boss requesting a meeting to discuss your work). All these situations have one common underlying theme: uncertainty of what might happen. In a worry cycle, the uncertainty about an unpredictable, novel, or ambiguous situation creates worrying about potential negative outcomes (e.g., “what if I say something embarrassing at the party?”), which results in anxiety.
When is it time to get help?
Some people can manage having uncertainty in their lives and have a higher threshold living with some degree of uncertainty day-to-day. For example, driving in a car to go to work even though it is uncertain if something bad might happen on the drive, such as getting a flat tire or getting into an accident. However, some people who worry excessively are not able to tolerate uncertainty and see situations in the future as threatening because of the unknown. Difficulty tolerating uncertainty has been described akin to an allergy, where even small exposure to uncertainty can create a strong reaction, like anxiety. Uncertainty is a normal part of life and typically we face a degree of feeling uncomfortable about the unknowns of the future. Individuals who have reduced thresholds of tolerating uncertainty might worry excessively and more frequently than others. If you notice that you have greater difficulty tolerating uncertainty and it is impacting important areas of your life and everyday functioning, it might be time to seek professional help.
How can CBT help with tolerating uncertainty?
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based practice that is widely used to help individuals with anxiety by increasing their tolerance to uncertainty. Some treatment strategies include:
- Cultivating more helpful beliefs about uncertainty, such as uncertainty does not necessarily mean only catastrophic or negative outcomes will happen, but neutral or positive events are possible too
- Remembering that probability that a negative event might happen does not mean certainty that it will occur indefinitely
- Reducing reliance on safety behaviours (e.g., excessive information gathering, reassurance seeking, inability to delegate tasks to others, procrastination, double-checking) that might reduce anxiety temporarily but never gives 100% certainty, thus requiring repetition of these behaviours and ultimately perpetuating anxiety
- Acting “as if” you can tolerate uncertainty by changing your behaviours, in turn, it helps to change your thoughts and emotions about uncertainty
- Allowing some uncertainty in life and building coping mechanisms to manage negative outcomes that may happen
How can the team at Oakville Centre for Cognitive Therapy help?
At the Oakville Centre for Cognitive Therapy, we have trained psychologists with experience in addressing tolerance to uncertainty. If you are experiencing difficulties with anxiety and difficulty tolerating uncertainty and are interested in receiving evidence-based treatment, please contact us at 905-338-1397 or email us via the Contact Us page of our website.
