6 things therapists do to stay calm when everything feels uncertain

Uncertainty is a natural part of life, but it’s easy to feel completely overwhelmed when a lot of unknowns are coming your way at once, like right about now. Tariffs are being added and subtracted by the hour, causing wild swings in the global economy that could potentially cost you a ton of money. The stock market is tanking, and a ton of people who used to have jobs that seemed stable are now being fired. Plus, you’ve got whatever is happening in your personal life to deal with on top of worrying about a looming economic crisis.

It’s easy to look around and assume everyone else is sailing along just fine when it feels like you’re barely keeping it together. But the reality is that everyone feels the heat when life is unstable—even therapists. “This comes up in almost every therapy session as of late, and something I am dealing with in my daily life right now,” says Hillary Ammon, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at the Center for Anxiety & Women’s Emotional Wellness.

You basically have two options when life is up in the air: Hide out on your couch and pretend like nothing’s wrong, or find new ways to work through the uncertainty. It goes without saying, but the first isn’t really an option—and ultimately, the only way out is through. If it doesn’t feel like this ability to navigate instability comes naturally to you, that’s okay. “We all have to learn to live with uncertainty, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy,” says Thea Gallagher, PsyD, clinical associate professor at NYU Langone Health and cohost of the Mind in View.

With that in mind, we tried to find the things therapists do when uncertainty strikes. From writing sticky notes to thinking about life’s “anchors,” here’s what they swear by.

They focus on what they can control

When the air is thick with uncertainty, it’s easy to assume the outcome will be horrible—and that can quickly make you a bit obsessive. “Uncertainties that cause worry tend to ‘stick,’” Dr. Ammon says. Hello, crushing anxiety!

Whenever she notices that she’s not able to easily shake a worry, Dr. Ammon says she’ll first pause and acknowledge it. “Then, I sit with it for a moment. I try not to push the thoughts or feelings away,” she says. This gives her the mental freedom to actually think about what’s bothering her versus trying to ignore it—which can ultimately put it on your mind even more, she explains. Dr. Ammon then finds it helpful to focus her attention on what’s in her control and to problem-solve the things she actually has the ability to change. It may even help to take it one step further and make an actual list of what’s worrying you and the aspects you can control so that you know what to focus on.