Do you Catastrophize?

[Satya]

I am often guilty of catastrophizing.

Catastrophizing is a maladaptive coping strategy or irrational thought process where an individual convinces themselves that something is far worse than it actually is.

Catastrophizing involves three parts. First, making assumptions about what may be going on based on very limited or circumstantial evidence. Second, assuming a more dire conclusion than you have adequate evidence to support. Third, having an emotional reaction proportional to your dire conclusion.

There are two types, catastrophizing about past events and catastrophizing about future events. The former tends to result in over reaction and the latter tends to result in self fulfilling prophecies.

Examples:

-Convincing yourself that when your romantic partner shows up late to dinner it means that they are cheating on you and are going to leave you. You then become very paranoid and suspicious of their behavior as a result.

-Making a small mistake at work and then convincing yourself that you are going to get fired, and then worrying constantly and becoming anxious every time your boss wants to talk to you.

-Getting a C on a paper and convincing yourself that you are going to fail the class, and that as a result you are going to lose your financial aid, and then you are going to have to drop out of college and miss out on ever getting the career you wanted. You then become very angry at yourself.

-Noticing a friend that you haven’t spoken to in a while hanging out with other people and then convincing yourself that they must hate you or you did something to offend them and that they are never going to hang out with you again. You then become very hurt and upset.

-Hearing that a coworker commented on your work habits to your boss and convincing yourself that they are a terrible person who is out to get you fired so they can take your job. You begin to obsess about what the coworker thinks about you and what else they might be saying about you behind your back.

 

[Gaze]

wow, there's a name for this? I know this well

 

[anica]

f course I do. I'm a Drama Qyeen and it's required behavior.

 

[kucala]

I do this, though i've gotten better about it over the past bit.

 

[Raccoon Love]

Ahh..you hit one of my weaknesses perfectly...all the time

 

[Satya]

f course I do. I'm a Drama Qyeen and it's required behavior.

It might not be the same. Drama Queens are typically people who exaggerate or employ histrionics. The motivation for doing so is usually to get attention or to make themselves feel more important.

By contrast, a Catastrophizer experiences intense emotional reactions to situations in their lives because they convince themselves that the result will be the worst case scenario. The behavior is commonly found in people who had terrible childhoods or trauma. They constantly anticipate that they will experience suffering and try to prepare themselves for it in situations by anticipating the worst case scenario. As such, the motivation for catastrophizing is an almost obsessive need to control.

 

[AUM]

Actually, that coping mechanism isn't as bad as it sounds, albeit, it is if you take it too far.

For anyone who has heard the phrase," expect the worse, hope for the best" would surely understand this argument.

I like to think of all the worst-case scenarios in every situation I get into so I can be prepared for them, so I tend to "catastrophize" or over-emphasize the bad outcomes over the good ones so I'm not caught by surprise. In the event that things don't go as bad as I expected, it feels good to know that none of those bad scenarios occurred.

What sucks is when you expect and hope for the best, and then things turn out the opposite. I think it leaves a far more worse impression with this kind of thing happening in my opinion.

Edit: Oh shit, Satya beat me to it.

 

[Neuropedia]

this is the definition of me. I think I have done all of these things exactly (except I assume my partner doesn't like me anymore, 'cause cheating doesn't bother me all too much)

 

[invisible]

I don't do it because I'm afraid of what could happen.

Supposed Former Catastrophisation Junkie.

 

[Satya]

" expect the worse, hope for the best"

The expression is actually, "Hope for the best but prepare for the worst."

It means to anticipate a good outcome but to take precautions.

That would be the opposite of catastrophizing since they anticipate the worst and may even convince themselves that it is inevitable.

 

[anica]

It might not be the same. Drama Queens are typically people who exaggerate or employ histrionics. The motivation for doing so is usually to get attention or to make themselves feel more important.

By contrast, a Catastrophizer experiences intense emotional reactions to situations in their lives because they convince themselves that the result will be the worst case scenario. The behavior is commonly found in people who had terrible childhoods or trauma. They constantly anticipate that they will experience suffering and try to prepare themselves for it in situations by anticipating the worst case scenario. As such, the motivation for catastrophizing is an almost obsessive need to control.

I disagree, Most of the drama in my life comes from catastrophizing.

 

[AUM]

The expression is actually, "Hope for the best but prepare for the worst."

Now you can see how twisted I am. I always thought that it was "expect the worst, hope for the best".

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Satya]

I disagree, Most of the drama in my life comes from catastrophizing.

That is true. Catastrophizing can certainly create drama.

I was merely speaking of the differences of methods and motivations.

Some people like to intentionally create drama in their lives for attention or to feel important and I view those people as the "Drama Queens".

Other people inadvertently create drama in their lives because of intense emotional reactions they have from convincing themselves that a situation is much worse than it actually may be.

 

[Satya]

Now you can see how twisted I am. I always thought that it was "expect the worst, hope for the best".

Thanks for the clarification.

Not twisted at all. I think the saying actually has its origins in an encouragement for people to save money. The idea is to expect that you will have your job, but to have enough money saved up to get by until you can get a new job in case you were to find yourself unemployed.

There is nothing wrong with conceiving of the worst case scenario in any given situation. The problem comes when an individual convinces themselves, without sufficient evidence, that they are going to experience the worst case scenario, and then having an intense emotional reaction as a result. The former is being prepared, the latter is being a catastrophizer.

 

[Jana]

Yes, yes, yes...that's my middle name sometimes

 

[middle1]

I do this so much its really hard for me sometimes to tell the truth from delusions. I am the master of misinterpretation.

 

[christmas]

i do this. i actually get compliments when finally shit hits the fan. "you're handling this so well." of course i am, in my head i imagined that it would be a million times worse.

 

[middle1]

i do this. i actually get compliments when finally shit hits the fan. "you're handling this so well." of course i am, in my head i imagined that it would be a million times worse.

Hahaha!

Well I'd rather things turn out better than I thought than worse than I thought!

 

[mauve]

I think I do catastrophize subconsciously though often I try to brush it off. Its like an internal battle. On one hand, I see tons of negative possibilities and prepare for them but on the other, I keep an optimistic mindset. Perhaps it is "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst". It can be emotionally straining though.

 

[Gaze]

Other people inadvertently create drama in their lives because of intense emotional reactions they have from convincing themselves that a situation is much worse than it actually may be.

good description of the difference.