What I'm Scared Of

A Catastrophizer: A short-short story

Eating a Cinnamon Roll: Bite-by-bite thoughts on diet, decision-making, rationalization and catastrophization

I’ve gotten into a bad habit these last two days. After finishing my daily hike, I end up too close to Johnny’s Donuts. In the past, I’ve usually resisted but the last two days, I got a cinnamon roll, a big one. I’m too scared to Google-search to see how many calories, carbs, and sugar that cost me.

My Psychology Today article today tells you the thoughts that, ahem, rolled through my brain as I was eating it.

Using Catastrophizing to Advantage: The mitigate-then-compartmentalize tactic

Catastrophizing gets a bad rap: True, if we focus on the worst-case scenario, we’re more anxious, often without being able to do much about it.

But catastrophizing can also enable us prepare for that worst case or to reduce that fear by rehearsing it as kids do when, for example, playing with a toy fire truck.

We catastrophize not just about personal matters but societal ones. For example, after Donald Trump was elected, some people catastrophized that it would lead to America’s downfall. I had friends who planned to move to Canada to escape. Today, some people are catastrophizing Biden’s redistributive, leftward agenda, fearing it will turn America into a third-world nation.

How can we derive catastrophizing's benefits while limiting its liabilities? My Psychology Today article today suggests the mitigate-then-compartmentalize tactic

Tough Problems: Catastrophizing coronavirus, social anxiety

This is the latest in the Tough Problems series.  In each installment, I present two composite questions that my clients face and my response to each.

Today's first question is from someone who is catastrophizing the coronavirus. The second is from a person with social anxiety.

Catastrophizing: An underdiscussed source of anxiety...and how to ameliorate it.

"She'll find out about my affair, divorce me, and take me to the cleaners!"

"They'll put me in jail after that IRS audit!"

"What if that headache is brain cancer?!"

Catastrophizing occurs when you focus on the worst case scenario. That, of course, can make you anxious.

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers an internal dialogue that may help you reduce your catastrophizing.