Part 2: For coping with change, uncertainty, and the anxiety that comes with it

Here's Part 2 of my series on dealing with the unknown.

It's an excerpt from my book, The Work Happiness Method.

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"2019 that was stuffed with uncertainty. I discovered I was BRCA1 positive, which means I carry a genetic mutation that puts women at higher risk for ovarian and breast cancer. They recommend removing your ovaries by the age of forty to prevent cancer. I was thirty-eight and had just started in vitro fertilization. No pressure... And then we had two failed IVF procedures.

I felt crushed by dark what-ifs. I was afraid to even peek into what life would be like after removing my ovaries. I’d be jumping into surgical menopause. I heard it could hit you like a train and change your life from the moment you wake up from the anesthesia. It was scary. The greater the uncertainty, the smaller I felt. I was melting underneath the anxiety. (I guess this was a warm-up for 2020.)

Anxiety is worrying about the future in anticipation of a perceived threat. It’s a response to what could happen, not what’s actually happening. My worst moments during that time took place in my imagination. Meanwhile, the fleeting yet sane moments took place when I was intentionally activating my playful mindset: I’d stay present, remind myself that I don’t know what will happen, and inject a sense of wonder: What if it works out? I’d breathe, feel the texture of the couch cushion beneath me, and let my thoughts cling to only what was happening now. I’d ground myself microsecond by microsecond. Staying present felt like I was hopping from one grain of sand to the next. At any moment, if I lost my balance, I’d fall into an abyss of darkness. But so long as I stayed light and focused on the delicate surface of this moment, I was safe."

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Coming up next, we'll talk about the brain's number one job and how it functions in the face of the unknown...you may be surprised.