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Your boss asks you for a meeting later in the week; you have never received negative feedback, but you automatically assume you’re about to get fired. Thoughts begin to swirl as you imagine the consequences: soon, you’ll be unemployed and unable to pay your rent.
Or, perhaps, when your partner is a little late coming home, you visualize a terrible accident on the motorway, their car crushed in the pile-up.
Do these patterns sound familiar? Here’s what you need to know about catastrophizing.
What is catastrophizing?
Catastrophizing is a cognitive distortion which involves jumping to the worst possible conclusion in a way that is disproportionate to the threat. If you go down this mental pathway habitually, it can leave you feeling like you are always in crisis mode.
Occasionally catastrophizing is normal. “It is a very common cognitive process that we all go through,” said Dr Tom Zaubler, the founder and medical director of Pegasus Psychiatry Associates.
Catastrophizing, or catastrophic thinking, is more extreme than worrying, but stems from the same evolutionary root. “It’s adaptive to worry,” Zaubler said. We would not survive long if we never felt any fear. “There was a time when we were out foraging for food, and if we heard something rustling in the bushes and didn’t take it seriously, that would be a problem.”
Often, when we assume the worst, it’s an attempt at protecting ourselves. “It’s something that we do to defend ourselves against what we perceive as threats or negative outcomes,” said Zaubler, often with the aim of shielding ourselves against “disappointment, rejection, abandonment, failure”. Sometimes, this is learned early in childhood.
Can catastrophizing be harmful?
A chronic catastrophizer may find that their “threat detection system starts to become sensitized to just about anything”, said Zaubler.
But rather than help us, constantly forecasting this way tends to backfire. Apart from being distressing, with impacts on your mental wellbeing over time, habitual catastrophizing can affect how you approach opportunities in life. “Ultimately, it winds up being very self-defeating,” he said.
Zaubler gives the example of a young person spiralling about the possibility of failing an exam, predicting that they will then be rejected from university and never achieve anything. Following this chain of thinking, they might decide not to take the exam. “It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy,” he said.
Do we catastrophize more in volatile times?
Volatility – whether in the economy, the job market or geopolitics – breeds uncertainty, and the inability to tolerate uncertainty is central to catastrophizing.
“During the pandemic we learned that we struggle, as a whole, to tolerate uncertainty,” noted Bunmi O Olatunji, a professor in the department of psychology and psychiatry at Vanderbilt University. “When there are things happening in the environment, the bottom line is we struggle to tolerate that anxiety … and that is a foundation for catastrophizing.”
Environmental stressors can set the stage for catastrophizing, said Olatunji, and also make it hard to distinguish whether you are catastrophizing or being realistic.
During times of uncertainty, if your catastrophizing is affecting the most important parts of your life, “that’s a signal you may need other tools to break out of that cycle”, he said.
However, catastrophizing is different from being concerned about extreme events such as war. “The world is a scary place right now,” said Zaubler. “I’m not suggesting that catastrophizing is [the same as], ‘I’m really upset and frightened about what’s going on.’”
How can I stop chronic catastrophizing?
Therapeutic techniques can help break the loop.
Different techniques suit different people, says Fairlee C Fabrett, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a director of training at McLean University.
Probability testing: One technique you can use when catastrophizing is called probability testing. Probability testing involves examining the evidence for and against the worst-case outcome and estimating the likelihood of it occurring. For instance, a person catastrophizing about a plane crash might acknowledge that the chances are slim and contrast their lack of fear when driving to work every day.
Probability testing comes from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a therapeutic modality that involves recognizing and challenging automatic thoughts and default ways of thinking, Zaubler says.
Cognitive defusion: Trying to detach from an unhelpful thought is called cognitive defusion, a technique drawn from acceptance and commitment therapy (Act).
“The challenge is to take a step back and say: ‘Wait a second, these are thoughts. They’re not necessarily consistent with reality,’” Zaubler said. Adding the words “I am thinking” to catastrophic forecasts (“I am thinking that I will lose my job”) can create emotional distance from the thought.
Act techniques can be particularly good for people who resist changing their thoughts, said Fabrett.
Honing your problem-solving skills: When catastrophizing, you inflate the probability and severity of the worst-case outcome. But you may also be underestimating your ability to cope with it. You can loosen the hold of cognitive distortions by adopting a problem-solving mentality and recognizing your own agency, said Olatunji.
It’s impossible to totally mitigate the uncertainty created by potential threats. But some elements are within your control; you can learn to identify them and then address them in a practical way. “If you don’t have this skill, that creates a vacuum for not being able to deal with uncertainty,” Olatunji said. “We can improve our ability to tolerate uncertainty.”
Mindfulness: Mindfulness exercises can help disrupt catastrophic thinking, said Fabrett. Many people find it useful to imagine themselves watching leaves float by on a river, each carrying a thought away. “You see them pass, you don’t try to tackle them,” said Fabrett, adding that it is vital to practice this strategy “in the absence of crisis”, so you can draw on it when needed.
Plan “worry time”: Fabrett also recommends giving yourself space to catastrophize. Planning “worry time” can stop it seeping into the rest of your day. She suggests setting an alarm for 10 minutes and writing out the worst-case scenarios that are bothering you. Then acknowledge that there’s not much you can do about them right at that moment. Afterward, do something comforting, like watching an episode of your favorite TV show.
Can therapy help with catastrophizing?
Everyone engages in catastrophic thinking sometimes. “Not everyone who catastrophizes needs therapy,” Zaubler said.
But “if catastrophic thinking persists on most days for several months and interferes with one’s ability to function or is accompanied by depression or thoughts of self-harm, it’s important to seek help”, he said.
Becoming stuck in a loop can be problematic, especially if it starts to interfere with daily life, said Olatunji. “When that persistent, repetitive style of thinking starts to get in the way of the other things that you value, that’s a really important marker.”
How can I support a loved one who is catastrophizing?
Take the time to listen to them closely, said Fabrett. “Really listen, ask open-ended questions, be curious. You don’t need to agree with their worst-case scenario, but you can validate how they are feeling.” She stresses that acknowledging their feelings is very different from agreeing with the content of their fears.
You can then nudge a person toward problem solving rather than dwelling on the thought, Olatunji said. “I ask, ‘what do you want to do about that?’,” he said.
