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Uncertainty and change have always been challenging to handle, for some people more than others, said Michel Dugas, a psychology professor at the University of Quebec in Outaouais. There's also today's rapid changes in politics, technology and more.
We can all benefit from becoming more comfortable with not knowing, he said.
With effort, uncertainty can be not just tolerated, but embraced.
"Wouldn't that be kind of boring if you always knew what would happen?" he said.
PRACTICE LIVING WITHOUT AN ANSWER
When the line between general unease with not knowing crosses into anxiety that interferes with daily life, people should seek professional help, said Dugas. Treatments can include behavioral experiments that safely expose people to uncertainty.
One of Dugas' patients who worried intensely about grades was asked to wait 48 hours before checking a test result that had been posted online. The patient's distress was intense at first, Dugas said, but diminished considerably by the second day.
"New learning can only really happen when you experience what you're afraid of," he said.
Smaller experiments might include briefly leaving the phone at home, or making a low-stakes decision without asking others for reassurance.
When a genuine problem arises, said Ryan Jane Jacoby, a clinical psychologist and researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital, resist the urge to eliminate every unknown. When plans for a trip are disrupted, for example, ask whether the problem is within your control and can be solved.
If it can, narrow the possibilities to three or four reasonable options, weigh their advantages and disadvantages, and make a decision. Then resist repeatedly reconsidering it.
"There probably is no perfect choice," she said.
When nothing can be done, Jacoby recommends shifting from problem-solving to acceptance. Mindfulness or an absorbing activity can redirect attention from repetitive thoughts to the present.
EMBRACE SURPRISES
Embracing uncertainty does not mean ignoring danger, suppressing disappointment or insisting that every setback is positive.
In her book "Comfortable with Uncertainty," prominent American Buddhist Pema Chodron writes that practitioners are warriors of nonaggression who accept that they can never know what will happen next.
"We can never avoid uncertainty," she writes. "This not-knowing is part of the adventure."
Carleton recommended acknowledging the negative emotions. Then ask yourself whether something worthwhile might emerge from a disruption, without assuming it will.