Psychological entropy: how much uncertainty can you tolerate?

Psychological entropy is a concept adopted from thermodynamics which symbolizes an interesting metaphor to reflect on. It refers to that level of uncertainty that surrounds us and that in some way tends to disorder or bring a certain chaos to our lives. Knowing how to adapt or manage that level of disorder is almost an obligation today.

Let’s admit it, if there is a series of terms that have accompanied us lately, they are, for example, “uncertain times”, “job uncertainty”, “uncertain future”… Far from getting used to it, we process this set of words with marked anguish and relative frustration. The brain does not like uncertainty, it needs certainties and a good feeling of control.

However, there we have the theory of chaos, that law enunciated by James Yorke that reminds us that In our reality, there is always room for chance. or the unforeseeable and that, even assuming great control over each variable in life, it is impossible to predict what may happen tomorrow. Therefore, we are almost forced to ask ourselves the following question: How much uncertainty can we accept?

Psychological entropy, what is it and how does it affect us?

The word entropy comes from the Greek (ἐντροπία) and basically means an entity or dimension that tends to evolve or transform. In the field of thermodynamics, it represents that percentage of disorder or chaos that is always present in every system. For example, it is often postulated that the total energy of the universe remains constant, that is, it is neither created nor destroyed, but rather transformed.

However, The second principle of thermodynamics tells us that although this energy does not vary, it will always be affected by entropy., for that chaotic element that can disorder and degrade everything. This idea marked a change in the world of science, since for a good part of our history there was a very deterministic vision of everything that surrounded us.

Currently, we know that chaos exists, that nothing is 100% predictable, that life and every system is also subject to uncertainty, chance and that complexity that is so difficult for us to accept. Therefore, psychological entropy comes to remind us that, In a changing context like the current one, we are forced to accept and control that chaotic component.

Entropy and anxiety disorders

The University of Toronto (Canada) conducted a study that links psychological entropy to anxiety disorders for the first time. According to this work, there is something very basic that we must understand. People are self-organized systems, we try to maintain balance at all costs and have every area of ​​our life under control.

However, We are part of an environment, of a social context subject to constant changes. These external variations generate psychological entropies in us, that is, unpredictability instills chaos, instability and fear in us. These types of sensations maintained over time end up taking a mental toll on us. It has been discovered that uncertainty is processed in the brain in the same way as anxietythat is, it highly stimulates activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and it releases a greater amount of norepinephrine.

Likewise, Dan Grupe, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains that Uncertainty is the fuel of anguish and the trigger of anxiety disorders today.

Sigmund Freud already told us about psychic entropy

Although psychological entropy is now being talked about more frequently, it should be noted that Sigmund Freud already told us about this idea. The father of psychoanalysis used this term out of necessity, upon becoming aware of the disorganization that can exist in the psychic universe..

His deterministic vision and the idea that the mental structure was always orderly and predictable collapsed when he became aware of several facts. Neurotic behaviors are a clear example of psychological entropy. Fears, anxiety, obsessions or phobias are an obvious reflection of that chaos that we cannot always control.

The human mind is not a perfect machine. Thinking that human beings will always maintain absolute control and internal well-being is a utopia. Our environment always influences us to a greater or lesser extent and sometimes leads us to instability.

Accept uncertainty, a fundamental biological need

How much uncertainty or percentage of chaos are you willing to tolerate? Something that the laws of thermodynamics tell us is that every system advances and transforms and that transformation often starts from entropy.

The chaos that surrounds us forces us to deploy new strategies to adapt to these variations. If we do not do so, if we resist and do not tolerate this uncertainty, we will be doomed to constant suffering.

We are balance and we are chaos. We are stability and also change. Assuming this movement and these fluctuations is the law of life and also of well-being. Let us accept what we cannot change and be able to transform ourselves to better adapt to each demand, to each external pressure.

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