Throughout my life, I’ve been a worrier. While I’ve never suffered from chronic anxiety, my internal monologue has been consistently filled with uneasy thoughts ranging from inconsequential to existential.

Is what I’m wearing OK? Do my colleagues like me? Will I ever be able to buy a house? Am I nice enough to my family? How the hell are we going to survive another three years of Tory government? What is my life going to be like in 30 years’ time?

I know I’m not alone. Verywell Mind’s latest Mental Health Tracker survey found that 40% of Americans say they worry about the future multiple times a week.

In the UK, more than half of 16-25-year-olds admit to fearing for their futures and job prospects. And there are very good reasons to feel scared. With increasing political uncertainty and financial pressure, around three in four adults reported feeling very or somewhat worried about the rising cost of living.

While these thoughts are all part of life, they’re also exhausting. Constantly worrying about what our future will look like as the planet descends into environmental, economic and social chaos feels like a full-time occupation at times.

So when I came across the term “future fatigue” during one of my late night Instagram scrolls, I immediately diagnosed myself.

Described as a general sense of dread, fear or apathy about what lies ahead, it perfectly encapsulated how exhausting it is to constantly be on high alert about things that are realistically years away.

While realism is important and I’m not advocating a “head in the sand” mentality, there is something to be said for the bliss of ignorance. 

“Events of the last few years have shown us the futility of trying to predict or control the future,” psychologist Nova Cobban tells Stylist.

“Things we never entertained as ‘real’ possibilities were suddenly played out in real life, whereas previously they had been contained within the safe world of movies and books. The future, as a result, has become muddied – who knows what will happen next? Is anything predictable? Is anything certain? What is the point of thinking about it anymore, especially when we are living in times when that future often seems to be going in a downwards direction.”

It’s a good point. Of course, what we’re living through currently isn’t the only time the future has ever looked bleak. Gen Z and millennials are constantly being told how “easy” we have it compared to past generations, but that doesn’t make the feeling any less debilitating.

“Future fatigue can become a problem when it leads to us rejecting a sense of meaning and adopting a ‘what’s the point’ type of mentality,” Cobban continues.

“When this happens, I find it’s helpful to remember that we could philosophically say that life has no meaning whatsoever – but the point of life is to bring meaning to it. So if you are the one who has control over what meaning your life has, then suddenly it is not the future or the past that holds power, it is you, as the author of your own future who has the power to script the meaning of your days.”

How to overcome future fatigue

“Worrying about the future is not ‘bad’ per se, but it is certainly an unhelpful use of your time and energy,” adds Cobban. “Time and energy are two finite resources that we have available to us and we tend to use them to focus on things we cannot control instead of things we can.”

She suggests drawing two circles on a page, labelling one ‘concern’ and the other ‘control’. “In the concern circle, list all the things that you are concerned about, or that you concern yourself with and that you have no control over. In the other one, list all the things you do have control over,” she suggests.

The concern circle may include things like: “what is happening on the news”, “what other people think of me”, and “what the weather is doing”. The control circle, however, might read: “my contribution”, “who I spend time with”, “my behaviour” and “my responses”.

“Ideally you want to spend your time and energy in the control circle and reduce time and energy in the concern circle,” Cobban continues.

“It’s very human of course to spend time in the concern circle, but it’s also a form of self-limiting behaviour, if we spend time on things we cannot control then we don’t have as much available for other tasks and this can limit our ability to succeed in the things we want in life.”

Another method to help redirect your thinking from concern to control is to ask yourself the following questions:

• What is concerning me right now?
• What is taking up my time and energy that I cannot change or control?
• If I had no concerns or limitations whatsoever, what would I do next about this?
• Which of these possible ways am I prepared to try first?
• What is the first step I can take right now?

Then, Cobban says, take action.

“This positive step towards using your finite time and energy with intention and purpose is key and a healthy way for you to get back in the driving seat of the future. It’s your story; write it however you wish, but don’t let the unknown of the future be the thing that stops you from harnessing the power of right now.”

Images: Getty