Catastrophizing is a situation of feeling of someone when one assumes that the something worst will happen. Such feeling involves some believes that one has become in a mild worse situation than he/she is exaggerating the difficulties they face. For example, someone might worry that they'll fail an exam. Imagine your rejection and suffer from the agony of what will happen to your self-esteem. Perhaps a geopolitical issue may have bothered you as well. You spend hours every night thinking about a nuclear war or another dangerous outbreak or an economic recession.
The is a particular psychological negative feeling towards the situations. For example, someone who is afraid of flights may consider the slightest rattle in the cabin of the plane as a sign of a technical fault. If they were not so exposed to catastrophizing, they would also see that the flight crew was working normally, but in this situation, the person would think that the crew was not paying attention and if this rattle continued, they would think about how terrible they could die.
Causes of Catastrophizing Feelings
The people believe that they are incapable of handling problems and imagine themselves helpless. Those who struggle with catastrophic thinking most likely dealt with a traumatic childhood.
Research shows that thinking of disaster can also be a serious cause of other problems associated with anxiety. For example, in the workplace, a perfectionist who is not convinced to leave even the slightest mistake at work, if he has a tendency to metastasize, he can be very uncomfortable with even the smallest mistake.
For example, they may have a catastrophic thinking that 'I will be fired' and 'If I am fired, things will not be handled by me.' At some point, their fears reach such a level that they cannot even do their job properly. If a person who has anxiety about his health, if he is suffering from catastrophizing, then he can consider any minor changes in his body as a sign of cancer.
Emotional Plight
Why are some people more affected by such negative thinking? There may be a number of factors behind this.
One reason for this may be genetic. We may have learned our way of thinking from our family. If you've always seen your parents draw the worst outcome in every situation, then naturally you will do the same. Our environment and experiences also play a role. Feelings like stress and being insecure can also lead to negative thinking.
If you know that your thinking has turned negative in the last one or two years, it cannot be a coincidence. There is evidence that world events can also increase negative thinking. Sometimes people also start thinking negatively about the events happening in the world, such as the war in Ukraine, fears of another new variant of Corona, or the destruction of the economy.
How to break the Delusion
If you talk to someone who is unselfish about this situation, you may know that failure is a possibility but not a certainty and you can take steps that can help you perform better.
You should avoid such general thinking in which something is excessively thought like I am a failed person and I will never get a job. In this situation, you may also think that every person sometimes gives a bad interview and that does not mean that every person is a failure.
And if you fail in this interview, you can learn from this experience so that your performance can improve for the next opportunity. In every situation, the goal is to adopt a balanced approach based on evidence. Kellan says that this helps a person with negative thinking reduce the intensity of anxiety.
About the Creator
Tahir Ali
I am passionate to spend time with litrature. I am struggling to see, hear and percieve things that aren't really unfolded. I love to work in fields of Social, Psychological, Family, Spiritual, Cultural and Public Health issues.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.