Do you catastrophise?

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

Do you catastrophise? I know I have, and I am sure I will again. 

That moment when the mind spirals towards the worst case scenario, our anxiety rising, heart pounding, palms sweating. 

Have you ever played out the situation in your mind to the worst possible outcome? Better yet, have you ever put pen to paper, and committed to writing what you think could actually happen. You might be thinking “You are crazy? Whilst I am consumed, I do not have time to say - STOP! GET ME A PEN AND PAPER! I NEED TO WRITE THIS DOWN!” But by writing it down, you are actively creating a pause. 

The situation could be anything, two that spring to mind for me, are leaving the iron on - What if the house burns down? What if I didn’t renew the insurance? What if it spreads to the neighbours? What if someone is home sleeping? What if someone gets hurt? 

Or a big presentation at work - What if I go blank? What if my voice shakes? What if I can’t answer the questions? What if I lose my job? I won’t be able to pay the bills. I’ll lose the house. There won’t be a roof over my head. I’ll lose everything. 

These are two situations I have been in and survived with neither ending in my worst case scenario. The torment that we spiral into has no factual evidence behind it. When we create space for clarity, we will start to question the likelihood, because we are allowing ourselves time to process. If the iron has been left on, there is an automatic switch that turns it off when left idle for a length of time. Has anyone at my work ever actually been fired on the spot for a bad presentation? No. Have I ever given a bad presentation? No. 

One thing to remember is that the body cannot sustain a severe level of anxiety like a panic attack for more than 20 minutes. Another thing to consider if you are having a hard time with catastrophising, is that the mind cannot stay on one topic for a length of time, it can certainly return to a situation, but can you honestly say that you have worried about something solidly for an entire day? Or an afternoon? Or an hour? No, me neither. The brain becomes distracted by other things, so if you allow yourself to go down the route of the worst case scenario, you may just find that unless you get there pretty quickly, your brain might just get distracted before you get there at all. 

Next time you find yourself spiralling, make some space for clarity, question the likelihood and therefore the reality of what you are suggesting could happen. Pause, grab the pen, write it down, and then breathe. Know it will pass, and know that there is no evidence to suggest the worst could be possible. And above all, be kind with yourself whilst you go through this. You are not alone, so speak from a place of compassion. 

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