Catastrophy I Thought (Again)

What is catastrophic thinking? Catastrophic thinking is when a person imagines scenarios in his or her head (this article tells you how to use that to reduce your anxiety) that are way more intense or graphic than what can really be expected. For example, if someone’s brother or sister is late to meet for lunch, the anxious person may begin to frantically worry that his or her sibling has been in a terrible car crash and is now severely injured or dead. 

Sensations, thoughts, and emotions are seen as signs of immediate physical or psychological catastrophe.

 a kind of anxiety disorder defined in Psychology Today as "ruminating about irrational worst-case outcomes".

anxiety disorders. They identify 6 essential ingredients of a cycle that fuels them: Catastrophic Beliefs (“I’m having a heart attack, I’m dying,”) triggered by a Precipitating Event (heart palpitations) results in both Anxiety Symptoms (shortness of breath, dizziness, feeling out of control) and an Interpretive Bias (“If my chest hurts, I’m having a heart attack”). These, in turn trigger an Attentional Fixation(“There’s no other way to look at this!”) and an Attentional Bias (“I really need to pay close attention to my chest.”) And these attentional factors serve to refuel the anxiety, the interpretative bias, the catastrophic beliefs and each other.

Catastrophic thinking occurs when our minds create worst-case scenarios or exaggerate the negative outcome of a situation, said Jenna Wierenga, PsyD, a Catastrophizing involves two negative thinking elements: (1) Overestimating the likelihood of a negative event occurring; and (2) Underestimating your ability to cope with the negative event if it were to occur


Catastrophic thinking needs to be disputed. In order to do this, you must first identify it for what it is, an irrational worst-case scenario. The second step in the process of dealing with catastrophic thinking is to identify best-case possibilities.  A third step is to look at these best-case possibilities and identify whether or not they are most likely outcomes. In order to do this, you must control your fear and be able to think in a rational fashion. After weighing the evidence and facts available to you, you need to develop a realistic contingency plan for coping with the situation. In 

Just think about what the odds are that a certain catastrophic event will happen. If the person in question has no answer to the question, then ask a trusted friend or family member who would know a much more realistic interpretation of a particular situation.

Ask yourself, “Is there another way of looking at this?” Wierenga said. If you’re having a tough time coming up with other perspectives, she also suggested asking yourself: “What would my friend say about this?” or “What would I say to my friend if he or she was having these thoughts?”

Note what you are thinking/saying to self. Then write a solution to that thought or tweak/correct the thought with a change in wording or add a positive twist. acknowledge the potential positive outcomes. See the possible good that can result or that is already there. Expose it. Confess it. Give thanks (gratitude)

practicing successful visualization a few times per week for a few minutes. One is simply invoking the reverse of the scenario described earlier.

) To reduce health anxiety, refrain from engaging in the repeated checking and medical testing which fuels the anxiety and the tendency to catastrophize should go down along with the anxiety;

(3) To address the constant worrying in generalized anxiety disorder, test each specific catastrophic prediction with evidence. This evidence can be gathered ahead of time or the predictions can be evaluated later in terms of whether they came true and whether you were unable to cope. This evidence-gathering helps to challenge the catastrophic beliefs focused on the predictions, with a concomitant reduction in anxiety;

If the anxiety is because you believe IF what is feared happens (no matter how remote) and you will not be able to deal with it, here is something you could do:
applying the ‘PR Method’ of psychologist Dr. Kathleen Mooney. The title refers to the first two letters of the three steps in the method—predict, prepare, and practice. That is, begin by predicting negative events you are concerned may occur. Secondly, prepare steps, strategies and actions to cope with each of these negative events. Finally, practice responding to each negative event you are worried about by reminding yourself of the coping strategies you developed until the belief in your ability to cope becomes automatic. An unpleasant task that will greatly reduce your level of anxiety.

Remember you HAVE you have the strength and resources to cope with it, and be resilient, 

. Notice your thoughts.

“Notice when your thoughts slip from realistic anxieties into unusual or unlikely scenarios,” said Dilley, Pay attention to patterns.

Regain the control you do have. consider the realistic options available to you in the moment

Face your fears. Mention it, address it

Breathe  Taking time to notice your breath and slow your breathing will help ground you in the current situation and take you out of your head.”



List of online articles that helped

https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/recoveringfrommentalillness/2015/02/dealing-with-catastrophic-thinking-and-anxiety/

https://drpatrickkeelan.com/anxiety/managing-anxiety-by-reducing-catastrophic-thinking-part-1-overestimating-danger/

https://drpatrickkeelan.com/anxiety/managing-anxiety-by-reducing-catastrophic-thinking-part-2-underestimating-your-ability-to-cope-with-negative-events/

https://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2015/09/11/navigating-catastrophic-thinking-part-3/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-the-face-adversity/201103/catastrophic-thinking

https://www.beckinstitute.org/catastrophic-thinking-transdiagnostic-process-across-psychiatric-disorders/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/sallytamarkin/all-hope-is-maybe-not-lost?utm_term=.bnKeKPOKxR#.elgKEl0Ejr