How Tolerant Are You of Uncertainty?

Coping With Uncertainty Quiz Link

In this episode, I explore the challenging reality of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and how it affects our mental and spiritual well-being. I share my personal experience with uncertainty-triggered anxiety, including how a well-meaning comment about highway accidents sparked a cascade of fearful thoughts. 

Learn to recognize the key signs of uncertainty thought patterns—speculation, "what-if" thinking, and negative predictions—and discover practical strategies to redirect these thoughts toward truth and trust in God. 

Whether you're facing job insecurity, financial concerns, or everyday worries, this episode offers biblical anchors and practical tools to help you move from anxiety to peace. I also share a helpful assessment to gauge your own tolerance for uncertainty and provide resources for those needing additional support.

By subscribing to the Anchored Not Anxious CareLetter you will be uplifted, encouraged, and reminded to show yourself self-compassion. Get devotions, evidence-based resources, anchoring practices, self-help book recommendations, and receive the love of Jesus. Thank you for listening!

Transcript

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2220324-quiz-how-well-do-you-cope-with-uncertainty/

For most of my life, intolerance of uncertainty has played with my mind and emotions. Intolerance of uncertainty perceives the high chance of future negative or unknown outcomes. The threat may be a prediction or prompted by an actual event. Intolerance of uncertainty can be part of having a generalized anxiety disorder. For others, a triggering event is the activator. If you have moderate anxiety, consistent stressors can propel you toward IU. In my situation, Intolerance of Uncertainty gets triggered. Here’s what it looks like for me.

One evening we went to dinner with friends. As we ate, my husband’s friend looked at me and said, “Be safe out there. I read 5 people died on I-26 – one was an 8-year-old boy. Read in it the newspaper. You be careful.”

As I laid in bed awaiting sleep, my friend’s thoughtfulness touched me. He knew I drove one-hour to and from work every day on I-26, a busy and dangerous highway.

And, the story of the deaths on the highway caused me to wonder:

• Why didn’t God protect them from dying? Especially the child?
• What caused the collisions?
• Can I avoid these?
• I’ve seen flipped cars, semis in trees, 5 car pile-ups. What if that happens to me?
• When’s it my turn?
• God, will you continue to watch over me?
• I don’t want to die

My cascade of thoughts began with the deaths on I-26 and ended with my prediction or declaration—I don’t want to die. 

If any of you have years of traveling the highway, you’ve driven by or witnessed all kinds of car and truck incidents. Maybe you’ve wondered what triggered the incident. Perhaps you contemplated, “How I can avoid that?”. The answer would require hundreds of scenarios to prep for. Something no one can do or control for. 

But intolerance of uncertainty prompts me to try. It’s ridiculously overwhelming. Anxiety rises. And not just anxiety—fear gets a foot hold. Here’s why: 

• I am doubting God’s care of me
• I’m failing to dwell on what I KNOW for CERTAIN – capital letters there!

Certain life events create vulnerability and is fertile ground for anxiety and IU. 

• Traumatic events like losing your home to a flood or tornado
• Food, safety, or financial insecurity
• Blind-sided by a lay off or termination
• Maybe you’re getting anxious about your retirement funds as you see market fluctuations. 

As a research nurse, I’ve investigated the articles on IU. A great tool is titled the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale – Short Form. There are 12 statements and you score how little or how much you agree with each one. When you finish, a brief analysis is given of how you fall on the uncertainty scale. I took the quiz and you’ll find the link in the show notes.

I have also researched the advice out there about using gratitude, coaching myself through IU, breath practice, etc. These are good, sure. 

But the practice I find greatly beneficial is to catch myself entering an uncertainty thought cascade. The key signs are:

• Speculation – supposing or guessing
• What if-ing – 
• Prediction – to declare in advance

Speculation is considering the unknown outcomes and determining how to control for it. I did this when I started asking the questions: Why didn’t God protect them from death? Especially the child? Will God continue to watch over me?      When’s it my turn? Can I keep this from happening to me?

After speculation, there can be what if-ing. What-ifing is asking questions assuming a negative outcome. My what-if statement was: I’ve seen flipped cars, semis in trees, 5 car pile-ups. What if this happens to me?

What-ifing is followed by prediction. Prediction is thinking what happened to them could or will happen to me. My statement, I don’t want to die, is a roundabout way of saying “I believe I could die on that highway.”

Recognizing your uncertainty thought cascade in process gives you the ability to divert to a truth and trust path. We have to cut the feed activating uncertainty. In my example, it looks like this:

Truths:

• No one is promised tomorrow
• Drive smart, be attentive, eliminate drive pride
• Getting tangled in worst-case scenarios is not the path to peace.
• I’m forgetting the TRUTHS that keep me ANCHORED to God

Now, if the situation is a job loss, potential truths can be:

• I’m not alone
• There are resources for me
• I can find a mentor, pastor, friend, community center, or family to guide me
• God will not abandon me

In any situation, there is truth. You may have to dig to unearth it, but it exists. Truth guards you against uncontrolled thoughts and predictions of doom and gloom. 

Find the truths of your situation and then move into trust. Root yourself in trust. Cry out to God with your concern, ask Him to strengthen and stabilize your belief He cares for you. 

Center your thoughts on what you know for certain. Claim your trust with words:

• God is for me, not against me.
• I recognize what I cannot control and I pass this to God
• I can TRUST God with those things
• I am a woman who believes I am saved by Jesus’s death and resurrection: I am saved and bound for life in his presence

Remember, you are not a victim of your mind and emotions. If you know your intolerance of uncertainty negatively impacts your life, talk to your healthcare provider. Use an Employee Assistance Program offered by your employer. Get with a licensed counselor. You deserve to live your best life!

God does not want us living fearful or with uncertainty. Hope is the anchor. Imbed your hope in God, a firm foundation.

Don’t forget to find the link in the show notes. It’s at the top. You’ll also find a link to my CareLetter. I’d love to drop in your life once a month to fill your cup with positive words.

Until next time,