DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY

THERE was already plenty to worry about before: the state of the economy, the cost of living, climate change. All this made us fret about the future – but the coronavirus pandemic has ramped up feelings of uncertainty to the max.

We’re confronted with things we never imagined – being in lockdown in our homes, the closure of schools, universities and businesses, the economy teetering on the brink of collapse.

Life has never felt more uncertain and neuroscientists will tell you uncertainty is an even more stressful state to be in than actually knowing something bad will happen.

In a study done at University College London, researchers discovered that participants who knew for sure