{"id":4032,"date":"2020-09-30T21:15:29","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T19:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/?post_type=article&p=4032"},"modified":"2020-09-30T21:15:29","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T19:15:29","slug":"nitrattaw-l-incertezza-matul-il-pandemija-tal-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/article\/nitrattaw-l-incertezza-matul-il-pandemija-tal-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Uncertainty is all around us, never more so than today. The current COVID-19 pandemic has heightened uncertainty over the economy, employment, finances, relationships, and of course,\u00a0<\/span>physical<\/span>\u00a0and mental health. Yet as human beings, we crave security. We want to feel safe and have a sense of control over our lives and well-being. Fear and uncertainty can leave\u00a0<\/span>us<\/span>\u00a0feel stressed, anxious, and powerless over the direction of\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0life. It can drain\u00a0<\/span>us<\/span>\u00a0emotionally and trap<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>us<\/span>\u00a0in a downward spiral of worst-case scenarios about what tomorrow may bring.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re all different in how much uncertainty we can tolerate in life. Some people seem to enjoy taking risks and living unpredictable lives, while others find the randomness of life deeply distressing. But all of us have a limit. If\u00a0<\/span>we<\/span>\u00a0feel overwhelmed by uncertainty and worry, it\u2019s important to know that\u00a0<\/span>we<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>are<\/span>\u00a0not alone; many of us are in the same boat at this time. It\u2019s also important to realize that no matter how helpless and hopeless\u00a0<\/span>we<\/span>\u00a0feel, there are steps\u00a0<\/span>we<\/span>\u00a0can take to\u202f<\/span>better deal with uncontrollable circumstances<\/span><\/a>, alleviate\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0anxiety, and face the unknown with more confidence.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While we may not wish to acknowledge it, uncertainty is a natural and unavoidable part of life. Very little about our lives is constant or totally certain, and while we have control over many things, we can\u2019t control everything that happens to us. As the coronavirus outbreak has shown, life can change very quickly and very unpredictably.\u00a0<\/span>There<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>are<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>individuals<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>who<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>may have suddenly become sick, lost\u00a0<\/span>their<\/span>\u00a0job, or found\u00a0<\/span>themselves<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>struggling to put food on the table<\/span><\/a>\u202for keep\u00a0<\/span>their<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>famil<\/span>ies<\/span>\u00a0safe.\u00a0<\/span>We<\/span>\u00a0may be anxious about when the pandemic will end or if life will ever return to normal.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To cope with all this uncertainty, many of us\u202f<\/span>use worrying as a tool<\/span><\/a>\u202ffor trying to predict the future and avoid nasty surprises. Worrying can make it seem like\u00a0<\/span>we<\/span>\u00a0have some control over uncertain circumstances.\u00a0<\/span>We<\/span>\u00a0may believe that it will help\u00a0<\/span>us<\/span>\u00a0find a solution to\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0problems or prepare\u00a0<\/span>us<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for the worst.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe if\u00a0<\/span>we<\/span>\u00a0just agonize over a problem long enough, just think through every possibility, or read every opinion online,\u00a0<\/span>we<\/span>\u2019ll find a solution and be able to control the outcome. Unfortunately, none of this works. Chronic worrying\u00a0<\/span>cannot<\/span>\u00a0give\u00a0<\/span>us<\/span>\u00a0more control over\u00a0<\/span>uncontrollable events; it just robs\u00a0<\/span>us<\/span>\u00a0of enjoyment in the present,\u00a0<\/span>depletes<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0energy, and keeps\u00a0<\/span>us<\/span>\u00a0up at night.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>there are healthier ways to cope with uncertainty\u2014and that begins with adjusting\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0mindset.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>We<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>can<\/span>\u00a0f<\/span>ocus<\/span>\u00a0on controlling those things that are under\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0control<\/span>, c<\/span>hallenge<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0need for certainty<\/span>, l<\/span>earn to better tolerate, even embrace, the inevitable uncertainty of life<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>as<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>well<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>as<\/span>\u00a0r<\/span>educe\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>anxiety and stress levels.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Uncertainty is all around us, never more so than today. The current COVID-19 pandemic has heightened uncertainty over the economy, employment, finances, relationships, and of course,\u00a0physical\u00a0and mental health. Yet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4028,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":""},"issuem_issue":[184],"issuem_issue_categories":[9],"issuem_issue_tags":[],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.8.8","language":"en","enabled_languages":["mt","en"],"languages":{"mt":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/4032"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4032"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/4032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4034,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/4032\/revisions\/4034"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue?post=4032"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_categories?post=4032"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_tags?post=4032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}