WAYS TO FIX CATASTROPHIZING THINKING ERROR

 



Catastrophizing is when someone assumes that the worst will happen. Often, it involves believing that you’re in a worse situation than you really are or exaggerating the difficulties you face.

For example, someone might worry that they’ll fail an exam. From there, they might assume that failing an exam means they’re a bad student and bound to never pass, get a degree, or find a job. They might conclude that this means they’ll never be financially stable.

Many successful people have failed exams, and failing an exam isn’t proof that you won’t be able to find a job. A person who is catastrophizing might not be able to acknowledge that.

It’s easy to dismiss catastrophizing as over-exaggeration, but it’s often not intentional or that simple. People who do it often don’t realize they’re doing it. They may feel they have no control over their worries, and it can even impact their health. Fortunately, effective treatments exist.

It’s unclear what exactly causes catastrophizing. It could be a coping mechanism learned from family or other important people in a person’s life. It could be a result of an experience, or could be related to brain chemistry.

ResearchTrusted Source involving people who catastrophize and who also have chronic pain suggest they may have alterations in the hypothalamus and pituitary responses, as well as increased activity in the parts of the brain that register emotions associated with pain.

People who have other conditions such as depression and anxiety, and people who are often fatigued may also be more likely to catastrophize.


Chronic pain

The combination of chronic pain and catastrophizing happens often and is widely studied.

Because someone with chronic pain is used to constantly being in pain, they might conclude that they’ll never get better and will always feel discomfort. This fear may lead them to behave certain ways, such as avoiding physical activity, which rather than protecting them, can ultimately make their symptoms worse.

A 2011 reviewTrusted Source on pain, depression, and catastrophizing looked at participants with rheumatic diseases. It found that patients who catastrophize reported an increase in the severity of their pain. Another 2011 review had a similar conclusion, suggesting that addressing catastrophizing is important when treating chronic pain.

However, this does not mean that chronic pain should not be taken seriously. Catastrophizing isn’t the same as exaggerating about pain. A 2009 studyTrusted Source on chronic pain and catastrophizing found that catastrophizing is more than just psychological — it affects the physiology of the brain. As such, it should be taken very seriously.

Anxiety disorders and depressive disorders

Catastrophizing is associated with depression as well as anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), PTSD, and OCD.

A 2015 study looked at 2,802 teenagers and found that those who tended to catastrophize were more likely to have anxiety disorders.

A 2012 study found that catastrophizing was linked to both anxious and depressive disorders in children, particularly among children in the third grade or younger. Controlling for anxiety, it showed that there was a strong relationship between depression and catastrophizing. The authors concluded that this was because assuming that the worst will always happen leads to feelings of hopelessness. Constantly feeling hopeless can lead to depression.

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