Tag: uncertainty

Turning off endless thoughts and rumination can be a difficult task for many people (in fact, 6.8 million people across the US).  So, it should not be shocking that we all may experience similar instances, or even times of day when we find it difficult to turn off the worry.  Some people may experience anxiety in the morning, throughout the day, or all-times revolving around sleep.  Have you ever been abruptly woken up from a deep sleep trying to figure out the world’s problems—many of us have! Or, are you the jealous type who envies your spouse for catching ZZZ’s moments after hitting their pillow—meanwhile, you are left alone with your thoughts for hours on end?! The thoughts can be endless, and thoughts do not necessarily have to be distressing in nature to be, well, distressing. 

Humans have the ability to think and think and think, without ever really finding the end of the thought—we simply ruminat ...

For one full calendar year today, life as we knew it, has been on hold.

On March 11, 2020 local news stations began announcing the first big changes due to COVID-19. Colleges would begin the transition of classes from in-person to online learning or suspension of classes entirely. News of colleges plans spread among the state, and shortly thereafter K-12 schools followed suit. By March 13, it was no longer safe to visit residential, health care or juvenile centers. Shortly thereafter, restaurants, gyms, coffee shops, hair salons, and many more small businesses were closed. And on March 23, 2020 the first statewide stay-at-home order for all non-essential workers was implemented.

As I write this blog on March 11, 2021, exactly one year since this pandemic struck our mitten state, Nation, and globe, I noticed the presence of one of my first deep exhales since this halt on “real life” h ...

Greetings, Second Story community!  

The last time I wrote, we were at the very beginning of what has become a strange and difficult season.  I know I speak for all of us here when I say it has been an honor to walk with many of you through these challenging weeks and months.  And even through all of the darkness and struggle, you have displayed such resiliency, which gives my heart hope!

In these unpredictable times, I wanted to share with you a tool I’ve been using to better understand and manage my own anxiety, one that I often offer to clients as well.  In the book Emotional Equations, Chip Conley offers an equation, or “recipe” for anxiety that looks like this: 

Anxiety = Uncertainty x Powerlessness.
In a few more words, anxiety is the combined effect of uncertainty (not knowing) and powerlessness (not having control). COVID-19 has been a perfect ...