Breaking the Cycle of Anxiety and Chronic Uncertainty
We often think of anxiety as a reaction to immediate threats or circumstance—an upcoming exam, a difficult conversation, a looming deadline. But for some of us, anxiety isn’t tied to a single event. Instead, it grows out of something more persistent and harder to escape: chronic uncertainty.
In a world marked by rapid change, economic instability, global crises, and constant information overload, uncertainty has become a regular state of being. Understanding how this ongoing uncertainty fuels anxiety can help us respond with more clarity, compassion, and resilience to better endure uncertain and anxious times.
What Is Chronic Uncertainty?
Uncertainty is a given. I think we all know this. Uncertainty and unpredictability also helps us stay alert and adapt when outcomes are unclear. Chronic uncertainty, however, can occur when ambiguity is prolonged and inescapable—when there’s no clear timeline, resolution, or sense of control over a thing or an outcome.
This might include things like:
Job or financial instability
Ongoing health concerns
Unclear relationship dynamics
Living through social, political, or environmental instability
When uncertainty becomes chronic, the nervous system doesn’t get a chance to rest or reset. The brain stays on high alert, constantly scanning for threats that may or may not materialize. This is an important function of the nervous system and your survival energy can save you in unsafe times. But it is not a sustainable energy to stay in nor will that energy heal chronic anxiety.
Why Uncertainty Triggers Anxiety
From an evolutionary perspective, the brain privileges bad news over no news. Knowing there’s a threat allows us to prepare. Not knowing, on the other hand, leaves the brain stuck in prediction and alert mode.
Here’s how chronic uncertainty feeds anxiety:
The Brain Seeks Control
The human mind is wired to reduce uncertainty. When it can’t, it fills the gaps with imagined scenarios—often worst-case ones. This rumination amplifies fear and worry.The Stress Response Stays Activated
Ongoing uncertainty keeps the fight-or-flight system switched on. Over time, this leads to physical symptoms such as fatigue, muscle tension, sleep problems, and digestive issues—common companions of anxiety.Decision-Making Becomes Exhausting
When outcomes are unclear, even small choices can feel overwhelming. This “decision paralysis” reinforces feelings of helplessness and self-doubt.Intolerance of Uncertainty Increases
The more time we spend in uncertainty, the less capable we may feel of handling it. Anxiety grows not just from the unknown itself, but from the belief that we won’t cope if things go wrong.
The Modern World and the Anxiety–Uncertainty Loop
Today’s constant access to news and information intensifies uncertainty. We’re exposed to potential threats and scary scenarios far beyond our immediate environment, often without clear actions we can take to respond or ensure safety. This creates a feedback loop:
Uncertainty leads to anxiety
Anxiety drives information-seeking
More information (often conflicting or alarming) increases uncertainty
Without intentional boundaries, this loop can become self-sustaining.
Breaking the Cycle: Living With Uncertainty More Skillfully
While we can’t eliminate uncertainty, we can change our relationship with it.
1. Focus on What’s Controllable
Shifting attention to small, concrete actions—daily routines, physical movement, or meaningful work—helps ground the nervous system.
2. Build Tolerance for the Unknown
Rather than seeking certainty, practice sitting with ambiguity in small doses. Mindfulness and acceptance-based practices can help reduce the urge to immediately (problem) “solve” uncertainty.
3. Limit Unhelpful Information Consumption
Staying informed matters, but constant exposure doesn’t equal preparedness. One of the ways we attempt to make ourselves feel safe is through information, but it doesn’t work. Information is not what makes our systems feel safe. So curate when and how you engage with news.
4. Reframe Uncertainty as Neutral
Uncertainty isn’t inherently bad—it also holds possibility and potential. Anxiety narrows our view to threats; broadening that perspective can soften the edges of uncertainty and make it more tolerable.
5. Strengthen Support Systems
Reach out to a trusted friend or family member (or therapist!). Connection reminds us we don’t have to face the unknown alone. Shared uncertainty is often more tolerable than solitary worry.
Anxiety and chronic uncertainty are deeply intertwined, not because something is “wrong” with us, but because our brains are doing their best to protect us in an unpredictable and scary world. The goal isn’t to eliminate uncertainty, which is not possible, but to build the inner resources to coexist with it, to support ourselves through it, to make it more tolerable to feel.
When we learn to tolerate not knowing, anxiety may loosen its grip. In that space, we can respond to life as it unfolds, rather than constantly bracing for what might go wrong. If you struggle with anxiety and uncertainty, I hope you’ll reach out about somatic or trauma therapy can help. I’d love to support you through these wild and uncertain times.