Catastrophic Thinking

Catastrophic thinking is a classic symptom of anxiety. It simply refers to a line of thinking where someone automatically assumes the worst. For instance, it has been 2 days and you haven’t heard anything about the job application you submitted. It must be because you aren’t qualified. Maybe they already filled the position. If you can’t get this job, you’ll likely never be able to get a job anywhere. No job means no money so you’re going to have to file for assistance. You’ll never be able to afford a place to live…By now I hope you have gotten the point! It has only been 2 days. Step away from the edge.

Those with high anxiety can objectively look at this and identify it as catastrophic…until it is playing out in your own lives. Anxiety tosses reason and logic out the window. As your anxiety increases, you begin to feel the physical symptoms, your mind races, and you lose all perspective.

Catastrophic thoughts are usually born from valid fears. Think of a large garden. Every garden has a problematic weed that shoots up from time to time. It’s natural and we handle it when we can. The weeds are a lot like the problems we deal with in life. They are going to pop up.

When you have a garden with weeds you would not throw fertilizer on the whole area. No one wants to feed the weeds. The same is true for your thoughts. When we are successfully managing our anxiety, we are able to differentiate between thoughts that should be acted upon and thoughts that should be dismissed as irrational and problematic. When our anxiety is not well controlled, we respond to all thoughts as emergent and in need of our attention.

Often people say, “I can’t control my thoughts they just are”. That’s true anxious thoughts will pop in. But think of it like a pop up on the internet you have the choice to hit x and continue browsing the web or you can choose to be drawn in. Thoughts are like pop ups you have to acknowledge them, but you can dismiss them. Often times I’ll tell patients as the anxious thoughts pass through imagine yourself as a commentator, “I see you anxiety but right now I am having a nice evening with some friends”. Identify that you have an anxious thought but then ground yourself back in the moment. Have trouble staying the present take a look at some of our articles on mindfulness and grounding. https://woodruff-counseling.com/i-cant-do-mindfulnessits-impossible/

So how do you balance addressing a problem without catastrophizing? There will be anxious thoughts like thoughts regarding a job interview that can shoot off irrational and rational thoughts. Let’s go back to the scenario we discussed earlier about 2 days following a job interview. Stop. Think. Breathe. Pause. If this was anyone else what would be the most likely explanation? Maybe it has been 2 days and you have not gotten a call because the HR person is unavailable. Make a plan for yourself regarding how much you can tolerate. For instance, I can wait 1.5 weeks for a call back. Once that time has passed what do you think would be an appropriate way to address the situation? Maybe you will send a follow-up email asking if there are any additional papers or references you could send to support the application.

Now, I understand you might not think this plausible to all situations. I had a client recently who was facing serious physical health issues. There were a number of possibilities being explored including cancer.  There were so many explanations being thrown around some minor and some quite serious. Does it help to assume the worst? She began talking about cancer, risk of death, leaving her children, and this stream of thought was creating an increasing amount of anxiety. Is cancer and death a possibility? Certainly, we are all vulnerable to disease and accident. Is this thought trajectory productive? No. When we stopped and began talking we identified that first she needed to follow through on additional testing. Once a diagnosis was made she could then make a decision as to how she wanted to move forward. She was trying to make plans and decisions that were several steps ahead for a problem that may never come to be.

Now by no means should you bury your head in the sand. You don’t want to ignore your problems as avoidance is just another way in which anxiety is in control. Be calculated in how you address them. Make a plan and allow the plan to guide your thinking and actions. If you need to, imagine what advice you would give a friend in the same position. Be as kind  and supportive to yourself as you would be to others. Allow this new perspective to help guide you in setting more realistic expectations. Allow your new expectations and plan be a way to manage your anxiety. Check anxiety when it tries to overstep its bounds, “you didn’t get the job”… ”no anxiety that is untrue I have not heard back yet and no matter what I will get a job”.

Some of us struggle in fact checking our anxiety. Being aware is one of the biggest steps. If you know that your anxiety likes to catastrophize then challenge yourself. Whenever, your anxiety starts to rise challenge the thought. For some, writing the thought down and identifying evidence in support and evidence against the thought pattern can help. Fighting anxiety is not easy. The more that you challenge your thoughts the easier it will become.

Keep fighting that anxiety!

Below is a sheet to fill out. Play detective. Write down an anxious thought and write down the evidence for and against. Be fair and honest as you fill in the columns.

FACT CHECK:

Thought	Evidence For	Evidence Against

Also make sure to check out the videos https://woodruff-counseling.com/news/ there are several videos on relaxation.