Anxiety
Scheduled Information Review to Address the Ostrich Effect
Client avoids looking at finances, medical results, performance reviews, or other important information because the anxiety of not knowing is preferable to the anxiety of knowing.
The ostrich effect is the tendency to avoid information we suspect will be bad or anxiety-provoking. This works in the short term, but the uncertainty becomes its own form of chronic stress, and decisions go unmade. The client is left guessing, planning around fear, and unable to take concrete steps.
This directive creates a structured, scheduled time to look at the information and sit with what it says.
Scheduled Information Review to Address the Ostrich Effect
Identify the information you are avoiding. (A bank statement. Test results. A conversation with your boss. Your partner’s feelings. A letter from a lawyer.)
Set a specific day and time this week. Write it down. “Wednesday at 3pm, I will look at [information].”
Before you look, write down what you fear you will find. Be specific. Not just bad news. What specifically?
Then, at the scheduled time, look at the information. Read it all the way through. Do not skim.
Write down what you actually found. Compare it to what you feared. Was it as bad as you imagined? Worse? Different? What surprised you?
If the news is bad, ask: what is the next small step? (Call my accountant. Schedule a follow-up. Have a conversation.) Write down one thing you can do this week.
If the news is neutral or good, notice the relief. Notice the time you spent anxious about something that turned out to be fine.
Do this every week with information you are avoiding. You will find that the anxiety of avoidance is usually bigger than the anxiety of knowing.
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