Apprehensive About the Future
“The future” is too large for the nervous system to solve. When we picture it as one dark, global event, the body may contract as if every possible problem has arrived at once.
The future becomes more workable when we return to specifics: What am I actually imagining? What needs preparation? What belongs to the past? What small choice is available now?
This Guide Helps With
- expecting painful history to repeat
- becoming overwhelmed by news, economic uncertainty, or large-scale change
- treating every negative possibility as equally imminent
- confusing preparation with constant vigilance
- returning to the present without denying real concerns
- making room for positive possibilities and human adaptability
Make the Future Smaller
Write the feared future as a single sentence. Then ask:
- Is this an immediate concern, a longer-term possibility, or a symbolic fear?
- What image does my mind keep showing me?
- What past event taught me to expect this?
- What preparation would be proportionate and useful?
- What information am I consuming that keeps my body activated?
Preparing for a plausible challenge can be wise. Rehearsing every catastrophe all day is not the same as readiness. A thoughtful “fear diet”—choosing when and how much news or speculation you consume—can protect your capacity to respond.
Tapping: The Past Does Not Have to Predict Everything
Side of the Hand: Even though bad things have happened before, and part of me expects them to happen again, I honor why I feel apprehensive.
Even though my mind is trying to protect me by scanning the future, it cannot see every possibility.
Even though uncertainty is uncomfortable, I am willing to return some attention to what I can influence now.
Top of the Head: I know bad things can happen.
Eyebrow: My body remembers.
Side of the Eye: It wants me prepared for everything.
Under the Eye: That is an exhausting job.
Under the Nose: The future is not all here right now.
Chin: I can prepare for what is real.
Collarbone: I can release some imagined weight.
Under the Arm: I can meet this moment first.
Top of the Head: The future may contain surprises.
Eyebrow: Some may be difficult and some may be helpful.
Side of the Eye: People can adapt, learn, and cooperate.
Under the Eye: I can ask better what-if questions.
Under the Nose: What if support appears?
Chin: What if I handle the next step well?
Collarbone: I choose grounded preparation over constant alarm.
Under the Arm: I am here now, with choices available.
Take a breath and identify one present-day action—or one worry you can put down for today.
Build Present-Based Readiness
Choose one action in each category: something to prepare, something to learn, someone to connect with, and something restorative to do now. Then stop. Readiness includes preserving the energy you will need if a challenge actually arrives.
Positive “what if” questions are not denial. They restore possibilities that fear has removed from the picture: What if I discover resources? What if the outcome is mixed rather than catastrophic? What if my future self has capacities I cannot yet see?
Session Audio
This guide was adapted from a Thriving Now session with Rick Wilkes and Cathy Vartuli.
·