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Psychiatrist and author Suzan Song has seen her clients make some rash decisions lately.
Some are pushing for commitment in romantic relationships early on, for example, says the Washington, D.C.-based Song. Others are leaving work without another position lined up. She and other mental health professionals are also seeing clients turn to AI to interpret interactions, predict outcomes or tell them what decisions to make. Some people are even gravitating toward religious organizations and turning to mystical practices like psychics and love spells to find a partner.
The underlying motivation for many of these behaviors? Uncertainty, they say. Just over two-thirds of U.S. adults say they’ve become accustomed to living with uncertainty, according to the American Psychological Association’s 2026 Stress in America report. Twenty-eight percent also say they have little to no control over their future, up from 23% in 2025. The sample data is accurate to within plus or minus 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.
With a constant barrage of doomsday predictions about everything from AI to climate change, you may be wondering how to cope. Here’s what mental health experts have to say.
The level of uncertainty has not changed — our exposure to it has
There has always been uncertainty — in people’s personal lives as well as in the world at large. What’s different now is the level of ambiguity around seemingly everything people need to navigate from jobs and finances to relationships, experts say.
The proliferation of smartphones, for example, has meant people are both steeped in their day-to-day worries and fielding an endless stream of headlines about the horrors of the world.
Historically, for example, “I could read up on the Cold War with newspapers,” says Carrboro, North Carolina-based psychologist Julie Pike as an example, “but I couldn’t go down a rabbit hole of TikToks and Instagram reels.”
There’s nothing to suggest that whatever happens next, you can’t handle that.Natalie DattiloPsychologist
Between regular exposure to the mundane and increased access to everything else, worries stack — and so does stress and anxiety. In fact, uncertainty can be an anxiety generator.
Beyond making us feel like we’re drowning in unknowns, the ubiquity of information might also mean people’s tolerance for uncertainty has gone down, says Natalie Dattilo, an Indianapolis-based psychologist. In the past, people had no choice but to sit with their uncertainty and cope with it.
Today, chatbots can run the actuarial numbers, potentially alleviating some uncertainty concerns by, say, offering a close approximation for achieving life milestones. But even chatbots can’t predict the future, and ultimately the uncertainty remains.
‘The present is where uncertainty has the hardest time getting a grip’
When you feel like you’re drowning in the unknown, New York-based psychotherapist Andrew Tepper recommends trying to focus on physical sensations in your body:
- Splash cold water on your face: “Cold water on the face triggers a part of your nervous system, which helps you to calm down,” he says. “It’s one of the fastest ways I know to take the edge off when anxiety spikes.”
- Take your shoes off and stand in the grass: “I have clients, teenagers included, who now do this as a habit,” he says. “Feeling the ground under your feet, the temperature, the texture, pulls your attention into the present. The present is where uncertainty has the hardest time getting a grip.”
- Go outside and move: “Walk, hike, bike, just get outside. It’s hard to spiral about next year when you’re present in nature and engaged in an exhilarating activity.”
You can also try repeating a mantra like “I am certain that no matter what happens, I will handle it,” says Dattilo. You can repeat it weekly, daily — however often you need. These kinds of phrases are grounding and can help contain some of that anxiety. Plus, they’re true.
“There’s nothing to suggest that whatever happens next, you can’t handle,” she says.
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