Catastrophizing Explained

What does it mean to Catastrophize?

Catastrophizing is a common thought distortion. 
Catastrophizing simply means thinking irrationally about the worst possible outcome of an action or event. It can also involve making a very big deal out of something minor. 
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For example: You overslept this morning.
Your automatic thought is "The whole day is ruined! My boss is going to write me up. I'm definitely going to lose my job. I might as well not even go into work today."
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That escalated quickly!

Which is a common indication of catastrophizing. If you catch yourself going from zero to ten, take a step back and question if you may be making a bigger deal than what is warranted. 

​Catastrophizing, like all other thinking errors, tends to ignore a lot of the facts. 
But that's why they're an error. And like any other error, they can be corrected. 
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So how would you correct our first example?
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Perhaps by adding some facts we can come to a more rational thought. 
The facts are as follows:
Yes, you overslept. 
No, this may not be your first time running late for work;
However your boss is understanding and you will apologize.
From now on you plan to set a second alarm.
The morning started rough, but the day is not ruined. 
You can choose right now how much you are going to allow your mistake
​to impact your day.
The choice is yours. 
You tell yourself, "I will choose to go to work,
take responsibility for my error
and work even harder to make up for it."
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Correcting our thinking errors in the moment can really take some practice. 
When our minds are being bombarded by emotion it is difficult to not let those feelings run rampant, but it is so important that we get them in check!

Irrational thoughts can have severe consequences. 
It only takes a split second to make an impulsive decision that we will soon regret. 
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Next time it seems as though the entire world is crumbling down, remind yourself that you have a 100% success rate of surviving difficult things. 
No matter what is going on, breath and take a reality check. 
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If you are unable to correct your thinking error in the moment, take some time to distract yourself with a healthy coping skill, then revisit your thought and bring all of the facts with you!

Come back next week as we discuss another thinking error.
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Until Next Time, 
​Your Praying Friend