How to stop catastrophizing

It can run like this. A headache at work becomes a missed deadline, the missed deadline becomes a talk with your manager, and by the evening you are picturing the job gone. Each link feels reasonable on its own; it is the chain that runs away with you.

In her view, catastrophizing can be a way to feel in control of an uncomfortable situation: if you can write the story of what will happen, you often feel more in control.

1. Name it. Say to yourself, “this is the catastrophe story again”. She suggests labelling catastrophic thoughts as they come up, and reminding yourself that a thought is just a thought, not a fact. Calming your body first, for example with deep breathing, can help, because in a calm state you can think more rationally.
2. Write the chain down. Put each “and then…” on its own line, so you can see how many steps lie between now and the ending you fear.
3. Check the evidence. The NHS lists always expecting the worst outcome from any situation as one kind of unhelpful thought. To check a thought like that, it suggests asking how likely the outcome you are worried about is, whether there is good evidence for it, and whether there are other possible outcomes.
4. Find the middle. She also suggests reality testing: look at the tangible evidence and how likely the worst case really is. Because catastrophizing pulls thinking to the extremes, she suggests thinking of at least three other possibilities besides the worst case, so you land somewhere in the middle.
5. Plan for the bad version anyway. Write the first thing you would do and who you would call. The decatastrophizing worksheet has a box for this, and it prints.
6. Do one thing or park it. If part of the worry can be acted on today, the worry tree turns it into a plan; if not, park it for worry time.

Your boss writes “can we talk tomorrow?” with no context. The spiral: I did something wrong, I am being let go, I will not find another role. Checking it: you have had no warning, the last review was fine, and a request to talk can mean many things. Three other possibilities: a new project, a question about a client, a change in the team. Plan for the bad version: you would ask what went wrong and what would fix it. One thing today: jot down the two things you are proudest of this quarter, in case they come up.

The Cleveland Clinic psychologist links catastrophic thinking with depression, and also with anxiety conditions, OCD and PTSD.

If the worst case is about your health, these steps are not the right kind of help: talk to a doctor about the symptom itself. Health anxiety is when worrying that you are ill, or will become ill, takes up so much time that it starts to take over your life. It can include checking your body for signs of illness and asking people for reassurance that you are not ill. The NHS suggests seeing a GP if worries about your health stop you leading a normal life, or if self-help is not working. Read about health anxiety on the NHS website.