U — Uncertainty: A Nervous System Perspective | The A–Z of Stress & Anxiety

U – Uncertainty

Introduction

Within The A–Z of Stress & Anxiety, each letter represents a common doorway into understanding how our internal system is functioning. Stress and anxiety do not always present as panic or obvious fear. Sometimes they arrive more quietly, as doubt, hesitation, or a loss of inner steadiness.

Uncertainty is one of those quieter entry points.

It can feel like second-guessing, like standing on ground that once felt solid but now shifts slightly underfoot. It often emerges when who we believe we could be and how we are currently functioning fall out of alignment. In that gap, assurance fades. Questions multiply. Confidence wavers.

Uncertainty, in this sense, is not weakness. It is information about internal state.

What Uncertainty Often Looks Like in Real Life

In day-to-day life, uncertainty rarely announces itself clearly. It shows up in small ways.

You may find yourself re-reading emails before sending them, checking decisions repeatedly, or asking for reassurance more than usual. Plans that once felt straightforward now feel heavier. Even minor choices can seem disproportionately significant.

Cognitively, there may be an increase in questioning.
“Is this the right move?”
“What if I regret this?”
“Should I be doing something different?”

Emotionally, uncertainty can feel like unease rather than fear. A low-level agitation. A sense of being slightly unmoored. Not in crisis, but not entirely settled either.

Physically, it may sit in the body as tension in the chest or stomach, shallow breathing, or difficulty switching off at night. The mind runs scenarios. The body prepares for possibilities.

Behaviourally, people sometimes hesitate, delay decisions, or oscillate between options. At other times, the opposite occurs. Quick decisions are made in an attempt to eliminate the discomfort of not knowing.

Relationally, uncertainty can lead to comparison. If others appear decisive or certain, the contrast may amplify self-doubt. Internal dialogue can become more critical.

In clinical conversations, I often hear a version of this:
“I know what I should do, but I don’t feel sure.”

That distinction is important.

What Is Often Misunderstood About This

Uncertainty is commonly framed as a personality flaw or lack of confidence. Advice tends to centre around mindset, decisiveness, or willpower. The implication is that if someone were more assertive or more positive, the uncertainty would dissolve.

This oversimplifies what is happening.

When someone feels uncertain in a sustained way, it is rarely a purely cognitive issue. Logic may be intact. Insight may be present. Plans may be well formed. Yet something internally does not feel stable enough to commit.

Another misunderstanding is that certainty is a permanent state that confident people simply possess. In reality, certainty fluctuates with energy, stress load, sleep quality, hormonal state, external pressure, and perceived safety.

There are days when a person feels clear and decisive, and other days when the same individual questions everything. The difference is often not intelligence or capability. It is system state.

Trying to force certainty through effort alone can increase internal pressure. If the nervous system is already under strain, adding self-criticism for feeling uncertain compounds the load.

What Is Happening Underneath

At a physiological level, uncertainty challenges the nervous system’s need for predictability. The human brain is constantly scanning for patterns and anticipating outcomes. Predictability allows for energy conservation. Ambiguity requires vigilance.

When outcomes are unclear, the threat appraisal system becomes more active. Not because danger is definite, but because it cannot be ruled out.

Stress chemistry plays a role here. Elevated cortisol and adrenaline sharpen attention and increase scanning. This can be adaptive in short bursts. However, when stress load accumulates, this heightened scanning becomes persistent. The mind runs possible futures. The body prepares for each one.

At the same time, executive functioning can be subtly impaired by stress. The regions of the brain responsible for long-term planning and balanced evaluation do not operate optimally when the system is overloaded. Decisions that would ordinarily feel manageable begin to feel risky.

Energy also matters. When sleep is disrupted or emotional labour is high, internal resources reduce. The gap between the Ideal or Future Self and the Current Self can widen. The future version of us appears capable and decisive. The current version feels tired, pressured, or stretched.

That gap breeds uncertainty.

There is also a psychological layer. Our sense of self-concept influences how secure we feel in our choices. If stress has activated older beliefs about worth, competence, or belonging, decisions can feel loaded with meaning. It is no longer just a choice. It becomes a referendum on identity.

In this way, uncertainty is rarely random. It reflects the interaction between nervous system activation, energy availability, external pressure, and internal belief structures.

How This Fits Within the Mind Works Framework

Within the broader architecture of Mind Works, uncertainty often appears during the Preparing stage of change. It signals that something is shifting, but alignment has not yet been stabilised.

From a Tower Block perspective, uncertainty tends to emerge when someone is not in their natural comfort zone of Level 6 stability. Energy, mood, or external circumstances have shifted. When the pillars of health are slightly misaligned, clarity reduces.

The Parts of Self are also relevant here. The Ideal or Future Self may hold a clear, rational plan. The Current Self may feel depleted or cautious. The Protective Self may intervene, amplifying doubt as a way of preventing perceived risk.

This can create internal dialogue that feels like conflict. One part wants growth. Another wants safety. The resulting experience is uncertainty.

Psychological processes of distress such as overthinking, self-judgement, or mental overload often accompany this. The mind attempts to resolve the discomfort cognitively, but the underlying issue is often regulatory rather than intellectual.

Understanding this reframes uncertainty. It is not evidence of inadequacy. It is evidence of system strain or transition.

Orientation Rather Than Solutions

When uncertainty is present, the instinct is often to eliminate it quickly. Make the decision. Push through. Choose a direction and silence the doubt.

There are moments when that is appropriate. However, when uncertainty is rooted in nervous system activation or depleted resources, the first task is not decisiveness. It is stabilisation.

Orientation involves noticing patterns.
When does uncertainty increase?
What is happening with sleep, stress, or workload?
How does the body feel at those times?

Rather than asking, “How do I force certainty?” it can be more useful to ask, “What is my system communicating?”

In my clinical work, clarity often returns not through intellectual analysis but through reducing load. When energy stabilises and the nervous system settles, perspective broadens. Decisions that once felt fraught regain proportion.

Uncertainty, then, becomes a signal rather than an enemy. It marks a threshold. Something is misaligned or in transition. Understanding that context changes how we relate to the experience.

Closing Reflection

Uncertainty is uncomfortable, but it is also human. It reflects our capacity to imagine futures, weigh consequences, and care about outcomes. It intensifies when stress rises and resources narrow.

If uncertainty has become persistent or begins to shape daily functioning, it may be an indication that the nervous system requires attention rather than the intellect requiring more data.

Work focused on stabilising stress responses, rebuilding energy, and restoring alignment often reduces uncertainty naturally. Clarity tends to follow regulation.

Support that centres on nervous system balance rather than performance can provide space for that recalibration. From there, decisions feel less like leaps into the unknown and more like steps taken on steadier ground.