Fear of the unknown8/9/2023 When we feel uncertain about the future, doubt takes over our mind, making it difficult to think about anything else. The sense of threat degrades our ability to focus. And this heightened state of worry creates conflict in the brain.įirst, uncertainty impacts our attention. To ensure our survival, we become hypervigilant to potential threats. A study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison shows that uncertainty disrupts many of automatic cognitive processes that govern routine action. Metacognitive strategies can help us think better and manage the anxiety that arises from the unknown. This fear makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, but can be unnecessarily nerve-wracking-and sometimes paralyzing-in our modern world.įortunately, we have also evolved an ability that’s deeply human: metacognition, or thinking about thinking. Unfamiliar spaces and potential blind spots make us uncomfortable. In fact, fear of the unknown has been theorized to be the “one fear to rule them all”-the fear that gives rises to all other fears. The path forward feels more dangerous when we can sense essential gaps in our knowledge. The more we know, the more we can make accurate predictions and shape our future. The unknown is synonymous with threats that pose risks to our survival. Our brain is wired to reduce uncertainty.
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