Category: Mindset/Strenghts

What Is Catastrophic Thinking?

Catastrophic thinking is a way of thinking where a person sees a negative and unfavourable outcome to an event. And if it happens that way, then life will be a total disaster for them. You may have heard it offered to as cognitive distortion – a term used to describe extreme worrying which can lead to a cycle of repetitive worry. Irrational thoughts can be stressful and consuming. The emotion of the moment often replaces logical thinking. 

Catastrophic thinking can cause:

• Added stress
• Increased anxiety
• Exacerbation of existing mental health conditions
• Loss of sleep
• Difficulty concentrating

Catastrophic thinking can be a problem anytime, but especially during these hard times, when there is a pandemic political unrest and thousands of people are anxious and depressed. 

Reframe

Ask yourself in moments of catastrophic thinking if the thoughts you are having are logical or real. What are the odds of the thing you are worrying about actually coming true? Can this thing happen? 

Is it practical to be concerned about this? The reality is, there are some situations which are beyond your control. No matter how much you worry about them, and no matter what you do, you cannot change the situation or the outcome. Instead focus on using your energy on aspects that you can change.

Keep A Positive Mindset

Keep it positive when confronting catastrophic thinking. Staying positive facilitates feelings of inner strength, optimism, and resilience because you believe you are strong and can handle anything. Positive thoughts affect all areas of life. Make a conscious choice to look at the positive in all things. Even when you don’t feel like it. Even when it’s hard.

Self-Care

Practicing self-care ensures that you are healthy and set up to deal with difficult feelings and emotions in life. Remember to make time for some healthy and enjoyable activities that enrich your body and soul. 

Change Your Environment

Your environment has a lot to do with what you think and how you feel. Change things up, begin a new routine, reach out to positive people. Read a self-help book to put your mindset towards something positive and self-supportive. 

Mindfulness 

Be in the moment. Instead of hyper focused on the future. Being mindful puts you in the right space to take a step back and observe what your feelings and thoughts are in a situation. Just become aware of your feelings without condemning or judging yourself. This can help you stop the cycle of catastrophic thinking.

Sleep On It

Make sure you are getting enough sleep and have a routine sleep schedule. Being rested ensures you will be level headed when confronted with moments of catastrophic thinking. 

Connect

Share your experience and struggles with like-minded individuals. This can be supportive family, friends or possibly even online groups where you feel safe and comfortable doing so. Share the highs and the lows as well as your successes and failures. This is a great way to gain insight and comradery on your journey of life.

Give Yourself A Break

Cut yourself some slack when dealing with difficult feelings. Take a walk through the park, breathe in fresh air, take a yoga class, read a good book. Go easy on yourself when life is hard.

Take Action

Making a change to thought patterns and habits is not a quick fix. Whether it’s changing your diet, creating better self-care practices, talking to a professional or reaching out for support, remember that making changes to catastrophic thinking takes time. 

If you deliberately work on these things you will find peace and change will come. Don’t despair if it takes time to change old thought patterns. 

Talk To A Doctor Or Therapist

If catastrophic thinking is a big problem that you just cannot get a handle on, or it is affecting your quality of life, or ability to get things done talk to your doctor or mental health professional.

Now that you have these tools in your life skill toolbox, use them. The more you use these skills and techniques the more likely you will automatically handle catastrophic thoughts better should they arise. Empower yourself.

If you would like some help at overcoming catastrophic thinking, I would love to help:) Send me a message so we can make a time to talk.

Fear is tricky. It can sneak up on you and take over certain areas of your life. The worst part is that you don’t even recognize how much it’s ruining your life.

But you can’t let fear string you along. It will suck out your courage, hope, and determination.

We’ve rounded up 5 signs to help you determine whether fear is stopping you. We’ll also give you some tips on how to stop it from taking over your life.

1. You let people’s reactions affect your decisions

When we want to be accepted by our peers, we allow their thoughts to fester in our subconscious. They start controlling how we think, act, talk and behave. This isn’t how normal life should be because you’re constantly running defense.

The way out of this continuous defense scenario is to renew your conviction. Stop gauging your actions by how people will react.

Instead, focus on what you want to do and why. Setting up realistic goals makes things more tangible and easier to attain. Only then will you be able to beat out your fear of rejection.

2. You keep you opinions to yourself

Just as the fear of rejection holds you back, fear of criticism is just as powerful. It can impact your actions and your decision.

When you’re always hesitant in your conversations, that means you’re always afraid of what you may say. That can lead to negative results at your workplace and at home. People may get the feeling you’re holding out on them or that you’re being deceptive.

One way to stop this vicious cycle is by renewing your determination and courage. Take some time to tell yourself that everyone deals with fear.

It’s those people who don’t let it get in their way that ultimately reach a state of peace-of-mind in the end. It’s not that they’re braver than everyone else. It’s that they respect their ideas enough to have them be heard by others.

3. You hold off trying new things

Sometimes the fear of failing at something overtakes our emotions. It makes you reluctant to get involved in challenging work projects.

The worst part is that most times, you don’t recognize it as fear. It can show up as procrastination, self-sabotage, or even full-blown anxiety attacks.

When we’re crippled with this type of fear, we tend to use negative statements that undermine our abilities. Such as telling ourselves things like, “I’ll never be good enough to part of that team” or “I could never do that as good as they do it .”

These kinds of statements further reduce our self-esteem, not to mention our faith in our abilities.

You’ve probably heard how some people write motivational messages to boost their confidence. While it may sound too good to be true, it does work.

Try it for yourself. Hang up one or two on your bathroom mirror or fridge. Seeing those positive messages day in and day out will slowly start to have a positive effect on you. You’ll begin to trust yourself more and enjoy a more positive self-image than ever before.

4. You avoid doing the right thing

We put too much emphasis on peer pressure. In many circumstances, it can almost make us almost sell our souls for fear of suffering potential backlash.

It could be that you don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, or you simply want to be accepted by those around you. So, what do you do when you have to choose between right and wrong? Nothing.

You become someone who forgets their principles. It’s the ultimate fear of any retaliation or repercussions that may come as a result of your actions.

The way to remedy this is to make a conscious decision to stand up for what’s right. Find the courage you need by allowing yourself to sit with your fear for a few minutes.

You can even write down what your fear entails on a piece of paper, then tear it up or burn it. Once you see your fears going up in flames, you can let it go and move on.

5. You settle

You settle in your job, you settle in your relationship, settle in your health. That feeling you get that tells you this is as good as it gets is wrong. That’s fear of rejection taking over your life and running the show.

Settling isn’t being realistic, and it doesn’t do anyone any good. It kills off that beacon of hope that fills us with life and creativity.

Another way we avoid this type of fear is by micromanaging everything. We feel we need to be in control of everything all the time.

The way to remedy settling is to take risks. Even if it’s only small risks, it’ll do you a world of wonder. It’s time to leave the sidelines where it’s safer and step into the game where you belong. Stop worrying about disappointing people, and start dreaming of a brighter, more exciting tomorrow.

Different Types of Fears Holding You Back

Fear is always skulking in the background. Here’s a list of the types of fear that hit all of us in our lives at one time or another. The important thing to remember is that you’re not alone in your fear.

• Fear of the unknown
• Fear of making a mistake
• Fear of criticism
• Fear of failure
• Fear of abandonment
• Fear of not being popular

Overcoming Your Fears

Below are some helpful tips. Use them to help transform fear from something that holds you back in life to something that boosts your courage and drives you forward.

• Question your values
• Have faith in yourself
• Meditate
• Practice mindfulness
• Keep a journal
• Realize that you’re not alone

Finally, this article isn’t meant to scare you — just the opposite. Take it as a friendly wake-up call to give you hope and inspiration.

If you would like some help in overcoming your fears and letting them control you, I would love to help. You can contact me here.