Decatastrophize Your Life

Have you noticed that the news circle always has a new catastrophe looming over us. 
And once that one is averted, the next one pops right up, out of nowhere. 
Actually, catastrophes are never averted, the next one just takes over and dominates what we are fed through media outlets.

The daily news might be urgent, but is it important?
How much of that will be a catastrophe in a week? 
How much of that will be a catastrophe in a month? 
How much of that will be a catastrophe in a year from now? 

Probably very little.

So, based on my own experience and realizing that many of my patients have similar tendencies, let's have a look at catastrophizing. That's when we have the irrational belief that something is far worse than it actually is, be it about our current situation or our future. In catastrophizing, the importance or relevance of a problem is exaggerated and we assume the worst possible outcome to be true. Catastrophizing is one of the cognitive distortions - irrational thoughts that have the power to influence how you feel. They are part of being human but too many are harmful.

How often does that happen?

I do it all the time, and believe me, catastrophizing can really get into spiraling thoughts, emotions and behaviors that take you down the rabbit hole of anxiety and depression. I easily end up with a negative belief about the situation at hand, hopeless, worthless with a good drizzle of self-pity.

What do you do about it? 

Glad you've asked.

You need to  de-catastrophize your life!

Have a look at the questions below. Similar to what I wrote in my post about the Socratic method, you actually want to do this as a daily exercise. Learn to question your own thoughts to correct cognitive distortions. Yes, it will take time and effort, but only a few minutes are necessary. So, write down your answers. Believe me, that just doing it in your mind won't be that helpful. Because if you don't write things down, your negative thoughts will weasel around your rational and adaptive ones and disqualify them as you develop them.

1. What are you worried about?
2. How likely is it that your worry will come true? Please give examples of past experiences and other evidence to support your answer.
3. If your worry comes true, what's the worst that could happen?
4. If your worry comes true, what's most likely to happen?
5. If your worry comes true, what are your chances - please give a percentage -of being okay?
1. In 1 week?
2. in 1 month?
3. In 1 year?