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Change is hard…but uncertainty is harder
When a prognosis is doubtful
Change is usually not hard because people are afraid of the change itself.
Change is hard because of the uncertainty of what will happen as a result of that change.
I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. My uncle, who is like a second father to me, begins radiation treatment tomorrow for prostate cancer.
He had surgery this past summer. It initially appeared to be successful, but there has been a recurrence and it seems to be aggressive.
Uncertainty is a heavy burden to bear. Change would be so easy if we could predict exact outcomes. Since we don’t have a crystal ball to guide us, we are left only with uncertainty. And when people are faced with uncertainty, they tend to go into a “fight or flight” response.
Those who choose to “fight” are visibly resisting the change. Those who choose “flight” are like ostriches with their heads in the sand, stuck in denial that any change is happening at all. Both of these are forms of resistance that we must handle with care.
For my family, choosing to fight anything besides the cancer itself would be counterproductive. And choosing "flight" and staying in denial of the situation would be disastrous. It is the same with any change we…
