Catastrophic thinking. One may legitimately wonder what it is and whether I possess this kind of thinking. I can calm many people down or, on the contrary, upset them. There is, yes, there is such a state of the soul when everything is against you.

Catastrophic thinking, how does it happen?

Did you receive a call from an unknown number? It turned out to be a scam! Bailiffs do not give peace!

The electricity bill surprises you unpleasantly, you know it’s time to wait for trouble. It’s even crazier if a squeamish child comes along, who might have a fever.

Of course, it is meningitis, pneumonia or another dangerous disease. Is your loved one angry when reading the news about the war in Ukraine?

He must have someone else, he will leave me and I will be alone for the rest of my life. This is how catastrophic thinking works, when any event is perceived as a serious problem.

Even more crazy, everything is getting more expensive this year and you have to start wondering if the salary will keep up with this government madness.

How to learn not only not to panic, but also to “wrap” the effects of stress in your favor? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of stress?

Catastrophic thinking, not just anxiety.

Catastrophic thinking is not exclusive to thinking about future problems. It is a feature of thinking and is irrational.

You have no control over it. You don’t consciously try to think about the bad, the bad just works in your nervous system.

If anything, it’s normal to worry about something. For example, a person may be nervous before a difficult event, a medical examination, a meeting with a business partner or a date.

Excitement is a useful thing because it prompts a person to act. For example, how to study the exam material, check the car before a long drive or choose the best suit for a date.

Anxiety does not destroy or depress, but only becomes one of the ways to interact with the world and gain new experiences.

Catastrophic thinking is quite another.

It negatively affects the mental and physical condition of a person and does not help him to solve the problem at all.

It immerses a person in destructive fantasies and at the same time prevents him from collecting his thoughts.

Instead of preparing for serious work, a person will be sad, complain to friends about difficulties at the workplace and imagine that he will be fired tomorrow and expelled from the workplace with shame.

Even worse, he will have to look for a job, earn a pitiful wage and starve to death.

The tendency to see disaster in everything can lead to the fact that a person begins to seriously regret his unsuccessful life.

If you summarize his thoughts, it seems that a work assignment not completed on time means the end of everything.

Obsessive thoughts.

Nothing special is happening, but one is sure that things are very bad at the moment. Your loved one is not answering the phone? He must have had an accident and is lying unconscious on the road.

My stomach hurts! It is definitely appendicitis, an operation will be required, and it is not a fact that you will wake up after anesthesia.

Thinking about the future.

You are sure that a disaster will happen for you. The boss made a serious remark! The horror, it’s time to pack up, he’ll let me go for sure.

The child got a bad grade at school! He will probably stay for the second year, will not go to university, will work as a janitor.

All these stories seem strange to a healthy person, but in the case of catastrophic thinking, they are commonplace.

Thinking works irresistibly, you can’t just cancel it – change it to the positive with just one phrase:

“Don’t think about the bad!”

Closely bordering on catastrophic thinking is the “Elsa syndrome” – the habit of imagining trouble and lamenting what may never happen.

This peculiarity of thinking is named after the Grimm brothers’ fairy tale about the “wise” girl Elsa, who burst into bitter tears while going to the cellar to get a pitcher of beer, because she thought that in this cellar, sometime in the distant future, an accident might happen to her hypothetical child.

Catastrophic thinking, physiology.

A person is organized in such a way that up to 70% of all his thoughts have a negative connotation. He is pathologically fixated on them.

This, by the way, explains the fact that people prefer to write negative reviews on the Internet than good or encouraging ones.

If, for example, you are served well in a restaurant, it is perceived as the norm, and there is nothing to talk about or think much about.

If the waiter is rude, the cook took a long time to prepare the order, or the music is too loud, you will definitely want to talk about it or condemn it in your mind.

Psychology.

It has been observed that fixation on the negative is a characteristic of highly anxious people who have suffered some kind of psychological trauma in the past.

One follows from the other: trauma causes catastrophe, and peculiarity of thinking increases anxiety.

Hormones.

Psychologists believe that the tendency to see disaster in everything is a kind of pleasure. First, a person comes up with terrible images of the present or the future, and when it does not happen, he rejoices from the bottom of his heart.

By the way, this also explains the fact that many people are fascinated by disaster and horror films.

After watching it, it’s really nice to know that everything is really good in your reality. The cortisol and dopamine produced in this process only intensify such excitement.

Catastrophic thinking, unwillingness to solve problems.

Catastrophizing is one way of doing nothing to solve your own problems, but instead moving on to someone else’s or imaginary problems.

Indeed, in this case, one cannot take responsibility for the real situation and quite seriously fear what has not yet happened and probably will not happen.

Life awaits the apocalypse.

Why is this bad?

Some people believe that the habit of “catastrophizing” everything can even be useful – after all, in this case, a person can predict everything and protect himself from possible troubles.

But psychologists warn that such thinking is far from harmless.

This kind of thinking makes the mood worse. It shows everything in black colors, you already want to drink sedatives or even call hospitals.

This generally leads to depression. Living in a state of constant anxiety creates the conditions for the seeds of serious mental disorders.

Destroys health.

Anxiety increases the load on the heart and creates conditions for the development of various diseases. The more a person is afraid, the more he feels discomfort.

How to stop a situational disaster?

Accept your anxiety. It is useless to hide your negative feelings. However, if you cannot, shall I say, not be afraid, then despite the anxiety, you have to accept that part of yourself, let it exist and label it as such.

Give your fear a name: What exactly are you afraid of? Set aside half an hour a day to talk about your fears out loud or write them down on paper. For example, you have a stomach ache.

Guess what’s going on?

Maybe it’s stomach cancer, but what are the odds of that happening? What can you do to check this? Stick to verified sources when looking for a rebuttal.

I think you understood that you should see a doctor and after his visit everything will be fine, the anxiety will disappear.

Or ask yourself what would you recommend to your friend in this situation?

Calm yourself down.

Find your own way to deal with anxiety. It can be breathing exercises, yoga practice or any other activity.

The easiest way to handle the body is easy to do. Shift your attention from your head to the sensations of your body – touch the wall of the house, touch the grass with your hand, drink cool water, etc.

If you cannot cope on your own, contact a psychologist. A specialist will help you find out what is wrong with you and tell you how to make your fear disappear for good.

I don’t know if it will work for you, but I listen to music in moments of anxiety, which I especially like.

If I can’t completely organize my thoughts, I go to the garden and do a little work.

However, the husband finds solace at the computer. We are different, but I recommend solving the ball of thoughts in a positive atmosphere.

Good day!