Catastrophizing is the tendency to jump to the worst possible conclusion. And more often with limited information to spare. Psychology recognizes it as a cognitive distortion. Or you might have heard about overthinking. Overthinking is an oversimplification of the term. When you ruminate a thought over and over, you start envisioning the worst scenario. Here are some examples of catastrophizing:
- A person might worry that their crush will reject them and conclude that they are far too ugly or unlovable for anyone ever to like them.
- A person receives a message saying their boss wants to meet them and starts imagining getting fired or their boss yelling at them.
These examples are far too simplistic. It doesn’t give any information. And devoid of contextual factors. Like childhood pain, economic situation, or unhappy domestic life. As a rule of thumb, whenever words like “always” or “never” creep up in your thoughts, you might be catastrophizing.
Albert Ellis coined the term catastrophizing. The founder of rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT), a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
Some of us catastrophize as a coping mechanism. The fear compels you to prepare for the worst-case scenario. And you hurry to or find a plan B. In some people, it might be a learned behavior. Usually, someone or something in the past has an influence, like a sibling, flat-mate, or parent. Sometimes, it also finds its origins in chronic pain.
Everyone has catastrophized at some point in their life, which leads to engaging in destructive narratives in their heads. But, it only becomes problematic when it becomes a habit we cannot control. Such practices can lead to depression or anxiety. And severely affect the quality of your life. Catastrophizing can also be due to any existing or underlying mental illnesses. Such as GAD (general anxiety disorder), social anxiety, panic attacks, agoraphobia, and OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder).
You must wonder how a seemingly benign habit like this can have lasting repercussions.
Our thoughts shape our actions and lives, and loops of negative thoughts like these can be self-defeating because, as the saying goes:
‘The human mind often attracts what it thinks.’
Your brain starts looking for evidence when you repeatedly think of a situation. And because our brain has a negative bias, it often leads to catastrophic thinking. For instance, when you learn a new word, you start hearing it more often. Or, when you ponder upon a regular headache, you might feel that your pain has grown without reason. This phenomenon is called pain catastrophizing. It usually occurs when your mind builds up the tension of an anticipated or existing pain. This leads your brain to exaggerate the pain stimuli.
How do you recognize Catastrophizing?
You must be aware of your mental distresses. Although getting stressed over things is expected, you must be able to recognize if your worries are becoming irrational. Awareness is essential to disable catastrophic thinking. Because when you get roped in with your thoughts, you start losing the grip of reality. And every situation seems unfavorable to you, which leads you to get stuck in the limbo of self-loathing.
When you start paying attention to your thought process, you might notice that the patterns that your brain has created are not practical. So, if you ponder over trivial things more than needed, you should seek a professional’s help. Here are some signs to look out for and recognize catastrophizing:
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- Overthinking -You find yourself chewing over the same thought more than often.
- Stress – Your stress increases every time over time, over simple tasks.
- Anxious feeling – You are constantly worried about things you can’t control.
- Fear and anger – Simple tasks like talking to people or being part of a social gathering bring out fear and anger. You generally direct your anger to yourself.
- Depression – If you are already suffering from depression, you might notice your thoughts turning negative.
- Pessimism – You always think of the worst possible outcome of any situation.
- Internet searching – You often google minor symptoms and stress over the anticipated issues that might not even happen.
- Negative self-talk – Your thoughts spiral into self-loathing, and you blame yourself anytime something goes off the track.
But thankfully, you can break these loops. Here are some ways to overcome these:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT):
A psychiatric approach to Catastrophizing is the most helpful one. And Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the most reliable form of therapy that a professional implements in a treatment plan. CBT is more straightforward than it sounds – it is a psychotherapeutic method where you can talk about their problems to a specialist. And they provide you with strategies and coping mechanisms to alleviate your distress.
When a person is affected by mental illnesses such as traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, or depression, their thinking often spirals down into negative thoughts. Painful past experiences can also have an advert effect on catastrophizing. Traumatic experiences can leave a scar on your mental health. When you go through such an incident, your mind registers it as a lesson. And any occurrence even remotely similar to that might trigger you to think it will happen again.
Patients with mental disorders such as PTSD, social anxiety, mood, or panic disorder create a pattern. Their mind establishes a belief system to rationalize any catastrophic thought.
CBT works on the concept that our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and actions are interconnected. And you have the full authority to change the way you think. You can put in the effort to confront the negative thoughts and feelings that trap you. In this therapy treatment, your therapist might suggest you keep a log. A log is to record your thoughts and feelings. It helps in recognizing the factors that trigger catastrophic thoughts.
The primary goal of cognitive therapy is to identify irrational thoughts and replace them with realistic ones. When you start detaching irrational thoughts from reality, you better understand how to deal with them.
Practising Mindfulness:
Mindfulness is an active effort to steer the mind to the present moment. It allows you to hone the ability to be fully aware of the present. And your actions without being overly reactive or under reactive to what is happening. When your mind is restless, you attract negative thinking.
The same happens when you dwell in the past or anticipate the future. Continuous flights of thoughts leave us with negative or obsessive automatic thoughts, and this, in turn, makes us anxious. Any uncertainty confirms that a negative occurrence results from your actions even though you don’t have any control over the situation.
The good news is that bringing the mind to the present moment can be nurtured using various techniques. Practicing mindfulness is a fairly straightforward process. When you do your daily activities with a mindful approach, you find calmness in the nuances of simple things. Being mindful means, you invest your full attention in the present moment. Meditation or simple breathing exercises can help you calm down your racing thoughts. Awareness of your breath while sitting, walking, or standing improves your focus and channels your attention to something you can change.
You can take short breaks in your busy schedule. Find a tranquil place around you and allow your thoughts to pass through. The key here is that you don’t hold on to a thought or pass judgment on it. Another helpful way to practice mindfulness is to keep a journal. You can also do some yoga, jog around the neighborhood or simply doodle on a notebook – all these activities can help you take a break from the chaos and be aware of your surroundings.
Consult a Doctor:
Sometimes this kind of behavior might have roots in our pasts. Your past experiences with trauma or a physical ailment may be triggering your negative bias. If some chronic pain causes it, consider consulting a doctor and getting treatment before it severely affects your quality of life. Pain catastrophizing can be a reason you might suffer from unbearable pain. It can manipulate or impede healthy thought mechanisms, and a specialist can help identify the root cause and guide us to resolve the issue.
In sum:
More than learning, breaking out of the habit of catastrophizing might need some unlearning. Like any other negative thought mechanism, we can change our behavior and lives once we start observing our triggers and how our minds work. Get in touch with an expert from the comfort of your home on DocVita: www.docvita.com.