Learn the Way to Handle Waiting without Discomfort
The worst experience of uncertainty for me was the time my young daughter was hospitalized with what her pediatrician thought was a fatal disease. After two days of testing, the result showed that her condition wasn't fatal and, in fact, she had soon recovered completely. But during those two days, as I waited by her bedside, I was wracked with anxiety. When I would go to the hospital cafeteria for a meal, I couldn't eat. I had a cot beside her bed, but I couldn't sleep. Was her illness fatal? Was it benign?
The Mental Oscillation
When the anxiety about the fatal possibility would become too great, my mind would switch to the thought that maybe everything would be OK. But because that thought seemed to risky to hope for, my mind would switch back to the fearful prospect.
When you're waiting for the answer to a question, you're uncomfortable not only because of the anxiety but also because your mind is going back and forth about the answer. There's no escape from the discomfort; the oscillation is ongoing.
There are Many Situations of Uncertainty
Will I get the promotion? What if I don't? You first may imagine getting the promotion, but the idea that you might not becomes so disturbing that your mind switches to the alternative. So you imagine not getting the promotion but that feels so disappointing that your mind switches back to the possibility that you will get it. This switching goes back and forth, on and on, until you learn the answer. And the uncertainty causes an ongoing uncomfortable disturbance in the mind.
Will I get the raise? Won't I? Am I going to be laid off? Or not?
Is this spot benign? Or is it malignant? Back and forth, until you learn the answer.
Will she say yes for a date? Or won't she? Will he propose tonight? Or won't he?
When you have a situation like one of these, why suffer, as I did?
An Inner Guide Can Solve this Discomfort
What is an Inner Guide? It's a unique mental pathway that you can create in your mind that can relieve stress and, over time, end uncomfortable emotions such as anxiety, depression, anger, guilt and shame. I wish I'd had my Inner Guide during that time of extreme stress and anxiety.
If you already have an Inner Guide, and are doing meditation or self-hypnosis regularly, your Inner Guide is already helping you with these situations. If you haven’t yet acquired your Inner Guide, I offer a free resource that can enable you to do so: Relieve Stress a New Way And let me know how it's going for you. I'll be glad to help if you would like.
