Are You Catastrophizing? Here’s How You Can Manage Those Thoughts

Imagine you’re preparing for a huge exam. Do you recognize the difficulty of the challenge and do everything you can to prepare while hoping for the best? Or do you stall and end up falling down a rabbit hole of one catastrophic thought after another?

If you find yourself paralyzed by the idea that you’ll bomb the test, fail the class, end up without a job and risk homelessness, you’re likely jumping to extreme conclusions by catastrophizing the situation.

Psychologist Susan Albers, PsyD, explains why catastrophizing is harmful to your health and how you can shake up your thought processes before they get out of control.

What is catastrophizing?

Catastrophizing is one of the most common cognitive distortions that involves believing the worst possible outcome will occur as a result of some action or event, even if it’s very unlikely. When you catastrophize, you convince yourself that an event is far worse than is realistic or probable. Catastrophizing is often used as an unhealthy coping mechanism to control an uncomfortable situation.

“I call it ‘negative daydreaming,’” shares Dr. Albers. “You believe the worst thing that could possibly happen is the most likely outcome, even when it is not. In terms of coping, if you can write the narrative of what is going to happen, you often feel more in control, which makes you feel a lot safer even if it’s not what’s going to happen.”

Catastrophic thinking distorts your sense of reality, leading to a series of complex physical and mental symptoms associated with your fight-or-flight response. The more you catastrophize, the harder it is to pull yourself out of it — and the worse your symptoms become.

Some signs you may be catastrophizing include racing thoughts, feeling stuck in your head, negative self-talk and more.

“Catastrophizing has a snowball effect, where it may start with slow, lingering thoughts that quickly ramp up with intensity and develop with your anxiety over time,” explains Dr. Albers. “Other times, your anxiety can skyrocket from zero to 100 in a matter of moments due to catastrophizing.”

What causes catastrophic thinking?

The origin of catastrophic thinking isn’t always clear. Sometimes, catastrophizing can give you some insight into your deepest fears and insecurities. If you have a fear of being abandoned, for example, your catastrophic thinking might become triggered when you feel someone isn’t giving you enough attention.

“In part, catastrophizing is a survival mechanism that our brains use to protect us,” Dr. Albers further explains. “Catastrophizing played a part particularly with our early ancestors to keep us safe. If we could imagine the predators or the dangers, we could prepare for them. But in our current context and our present-day world, catastrophizing causes a lot of undue stress and anxiety because many of the things we imagine are not likely.”

How to stop catastrophizing

Regaining control over catastrophic thinking requires grounding, time, dedication and making an intentional, consistent effort to replace your irrational thoughts with realistic ones.

If it sounds difficult, that’s because it can be, especially if you’ve been catastrophizing for some time in response to various goings-on in your life. But there is light at the end of the rabbit hole if you can trust and follow this process.

Be mindful and give your thoughts a name

Label which thoughts are catastrophic and call them out, literally, as they surface. By identifying them for what they are — as catastrophic thoughts that have no basis in reality — you can learn to defuse them efficiently over time.

“Recognize that it’s happening — because if you don’t, they will take control before you are really aware of it,” warns Dr. Albers. “Talking out loud and telling your thoughts to stop can help disrupt the spiral of thoughts you’re having.”

Learn how to calm down and take care of your physical symptoms

“When you are in a calm state, you can think more rationally,” states Dr. Albers.

When you’re triggered, take a step back. Identify your emotional triggers. Take a deep breath and try out some grounding techniques like deep-breathing exercises, meditation and mindfulness to bring you into the present moment.

Do some self-care ahead of time

Catastrophizing has a way of grabbing a hold of you and throwing you for a loop. If you know you’re vulnerable to catastrophic thinking, you can do some work on the front end to take better care of yourself and aim for success.

“Getting enough sleep and eating well are some things that will help your system to be calm ahead of time,” recommends Dr. Albers. “When people are sleep-deprived, stressed or not well-fed, they tend to have more catastrophic thoughts.”

Reframe your thinking

Don’t entertain those negative worst-case scenarios. Instead, throw yourself into the opposite side of the spectrum by entertaining more positive thoughts, at least long enough until you believe them.

“Do the absolute opposite of what you’re used to,” suggests Dr. Albers. “Leaning more into those positive thoughts will help populate a more positive outlook. Those positive feelings will then reinforce your internal responses so that when catastrophic thinking emerges, it’ll become easier to combat and take control.”

Meet yourself in the middle

So much of catastrophizing is about polarization — the idea that everything exists in extremes. Instead of focusing on the extremes, try to think of at least three other possibilities besides the worst-case, so your outcome lands you somewhere smack-dab in the middle.

“This helps people get unstuck from ruminating on one negative outcome,” says Dr. Albers. “You want to come up with alternatives to your worst-case scenario, so you have more of a middle ground to stand on.”

Try cognitive behavioral therapy

“Cognitive behavioral therapy is the standard of treatment,” says Dr. Albers. “A therapist will help you to identify thoughts and reframe them with some cognitive restructuring.”

Cognitive restructuring is about training your brain to think differently so your behaviors become more in line with your thoughts. Together, a therapist will work with you to figure out a unique treatment plan that will help you feel like your best self again.

Get comfortable with discomfort

“When you’re having anxious thoughts, it’s normal to have some anxiety and discomfort,” states Dr. Albers. “You want to learn how to sit with those thoughts and know that they will pass if you don’t give them too much attention and rumination.”

This takes a lot of self-practice and positive self-talk, but the more you confront your emotions, the higher your self-awareness will become. Tell yourself it’s OK to be uncomfortable. You’re not alone in this experience, and you are safe.

Do some reality testing

When catastrophizing takes hold, look at the tangible evidence and explore the probability of your worst-case scenarios happening. Sometimes, this requires looking at actual statistics and facts that can help put things into perspective. Sometimes, it’s about focusing on the way someone has behaved in the past and coming to terms with how they would likely react in the present.

If you’re struggling to find evidence, journal about your thoughts and feelings and create a pros and cons list to help determine the outcome. The goal is to reassure yourself through the immediate catastrophe until you realize everything is indeed going to be OK.

Take a social media break

“People often share or talk about worst-case scenarios on social media for shock value and to garner attention, even when those scenarios aren’t very common,” points out Dr. Albers. “But because you see them on social media, they can feel common and trigger some of your fears. Your mind comes to use those social media posts as examples to look to when you’re trying to rationalize your catastrophic thoughts.”

Take a social media break and refrain from doomscrolling if you’re feeling overwhelmed. If your symptoms start to resolve themselves or your catastrophic thinking becomes more manageable, that may indicate that social media might be getting in the way of your progress. Logging off for a little while couldn’t hurt.

Distance yourself from catastrophizing

Overthinking is a burdensome behavior that pairs well with catastrophizing. But you can distance yourself from your thoughts to help lessen their impact.

“Instead of focusing on your thoughts as facts, remind yourself that it’s just a thought and separate yourself from the likelihood that it’s going to happen,” advises Dr. Albers. “We treat our thoughts as if they are facts, but when we really dig deeper, we notice that it’s not always grounded in any evidence.”

For example, if you have the persistent catastrophic worry that your significant other is going to break up with you, try saying to yourself, “I’m having the thought that my significant other will abandon me because I’m afraid of being alone, but it’s unlikely that we’re breaking up. They may be distracted by their responsibilities and they will respond when they have time.”

Notice how in this example, you’re not giving fuel to the reality that you’ll be left behind. Instead you’re validating your fears, acknowledging and processing your thoughts, and identifying more realistic outcomes. You’re putting distance between you and the thought itself.

Related psychiatric conditions

“There are bidirectional relationships between mental health disorders and your cognitive thinking,” shares Dr. Albers. “If you feel depressed, you may catastrophize more often. If you’re catastrophizing, you will feel more depressed. These things can exacerbate each other.”

Depression isn’t the only mental health condition that’s associated with catastrophic thinking. Others include:

• Anxiety disorders
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Often, catastrophic thinking stems from past traumas, suppressed emotions and issues with your inner child. Studies have shown early childhood interventions may help reduce the likelihood of catastrophic thinking in adulthood.

“There can sometimes be an element of truth to the concerns you have, but catastrophizing often takes a small problem and makes it overwhelming,” says Dr. Albers. “Catastrophizing is a self-reinforcing cycle that worsens over time. The more you catastrophize, the greater the negative thought spiral becomes.”