Imagining Difficult Futures

When we imagine ourselves ten years from now, our brain reacts like we're thinking about either a stranger or just somebody we really don't like. In the same way that playing a video with an avitar, we're not ourselves for this character. So it's not always a good thing that our future selves feel like strangers. But i think you are right that when it comes to imagining difficult futures, maybe that shus an extra layer of psychological security.