THE WORST POSSIBLE OUTCOME
Anxiety is a normal and healthy emotion that we all experience at different levels throughout our lives. Anxiety Disorders on the other hand are a serious mental health issue and those who have Anxiety Disorders experiences such intense levels of anxiety that it interferes with their personal life, professional life, and social life. Those who struggle with anxiety experience different types of “sticky thinking”. Sticky thoughts are the thoughts that keep us stuck in our feelings of anxiety and can impact our behaviours as we try to rid ourselves of these distressing thoughts.
One type of sticky thinking is known as Catastrophizing. What is catastrophizing? It is exactly what it sounds like, expecting a complete and total disaster. You likely have experienced this type of thought before. Maybe before a big interview or presentation? Or perhaps if you are experiencing financial struggles? You may even have catastrophic thoughts about your abilities as a parent.
“I’m going to make a mess of this presentation, the company will lose an important contract and I’ll get fired”
“I’m going to lose my job, I won’t be able to pay my bills, I’ll be evicted from my apartment, and I’ll be homeless during a pandemic!”
“I’m going to damage my kids and they are going to hate me and never speak to me ever again.”
These are just some examples of catastrophic thinking. Does it sound familiar to you? It may seem like each of these situations are incredibly unlikely or would require someone to experience the worst luck possible. What makes catastrophic thinking so sticky is that while many of this thoughts are improbable, they could be possible. Falling into a pattern of catastrophic thinking can give an individual a false sense of control when they are in stressful situations where they may feel absolutely powerless. How does it give the person a false sense control you ask? Well, if you’ve thought of the worst possible outcome, then you can be prepared for it. Thinking about the worst possible outcome triggers your sympathetic nervous system to alert the part of your brain responsible for the fight/flight response and it assumes that you are in life threatening danger.
Those who have learned to respond to stressful situation by engaging in catastrophic thinking may actually experience a surge of energy (from the fight/flight response) when they are stressed. While it may seem like this burst of energy helps you prepare it leaves you drained and depleted in the long run. Since our bodies cannot differentiate between real danger and perceived danger, this type of thinking can be incredibly taxing on our nervous system. This may actually lead to burn out quicker for those in jobs where there is a higher level of stress involved. The situation you are fearful of is likely not one that is life-threatening and you likely have the skills to overcome and work through it.
Those who struggle with catastrophic thinking aren’t consciously choosing to respond to stress in this way and it is not their fault. It is often a learned way of responding, which we may have picked up from our caregivers or the environment we grew up win.
If this is a pattern that you notices yourself falling into there are ways to overcome catastrophic thinking. Engaging in grounding and mindfulness practices can help to bring your back to the present. When we are stuck in a catastrophizing thinking pattern, it takes us out of the present and into the future and we are not aware of the physiological stress response and increased tension in our bodies. By coming back to the here and now we can attend the emotions we are experiencing in the moment and we can also work on responding to the fight/flight response by engaging in formal/informal mindfulness practices.
Writing your fears out in a thought log or journal can allow you to explore them in a more realistic way. You can think of all the times the worst possible outcomes did not occur. You can also take a look at the facts of the situation to help you to see that the fearful thought is not a reflection of the situation at hand. You can ask yourself certain questions to help to work through your thoughts: are you currently safe? Do you have choice and control in your life? Can you try embracing more realistic thoughts, even if you don’t believe them at first? Could your catastrophizing be a symptom of trauma?
If you recognize that you’re having a difficult time overcoming these thoughts on your own, reaching out to a professional can be a wonderful resource!
