Lybi Ma has a brief, accessible read on the phenomenon known as of catastrophizing, which if you haven’t already guessed, is when your brain biases you towards thinking the WORST POSSIBLE OUTCOME on anything uncertain that you’re worried about.
For example, years ago, I told my therapist, “I go from A to Z without thinking of any of the other letters along the way.”
In other words, there’s some uncertainty ahead that could turn out to be good or bad, and my mind just naturally goes to a worse-than-bad place. A catastrophic place. Z.
Maybe you can relate.
I’ve been this way since I was a small kid, and there’s a genetic tendency and a nurture thing to this, as well (it’s estimated that 36-40% of this comes from genetics with environment filling in the gap).
Now, in her article Ma notes that most humans have negative bias. A study from 2019 showed that the brain lights up brighter when showed a negative image than a positive one.
And humans tend to focus on negative events far more than positive ones.
You know the drill.
One million things can go right in a day, but if just one goes wrong, it throws us off.
But catastrophizing is when our anxiety gets so out of control that it doesn’t just brood on the bad, it anticipates the very worst.
Ma suggests we “call out the brain” when we recognize what’s happening to us. You can read her tips in the piece, but essentially, we need to stop and get some distance from what’s going on in our brain, analyze it, do so almost as a neutral observer, and call it out.
Then it becomes a little easier for us to treat our own cognitive processes the way we would someone else’s. Less biased.
For example, if you meet someone who’s catastrophizing about an event, it’s pretty easy to see the mountain of the molehill they’re making and think “oh, if they could just think about it realistically,” and it all seems so simple to us if we’re not going through it.
But then something hits us personally — some potentially negative thing, some uncertainty — and we’re unable to apply the same realism to ourselves.
If you’re reading this website, none of these feelings surprise you and I doubt if, intuitively, any of us really needs a study to confirm this phenomenon (it’s a bit like one of those headlines “Study: Getting more sleep helps your body.”)
But what do we do about catastrophizing beyond the tips she gives (I’d also recommend reading Dr. Maggie Kang’s piece on “3 ways to retrain your catastrophizing brain“)?
Well, I’d suggest getting in touch with a psychiatrist who can address the brain condition component (if there’s one) and a therapist who can teach you techniques like the ones in these articles.
There’s no one-size-fits-all on this.
I’ve found the app Headspace to be helpful, exactly because it helps you learn to look at your irrational thoughts from a more objective space (and teaches pretty helpful breathing techniques).
And, of course, loading your mind with Scripture helps, as well. Prayer. Seeking God’s help with all you’ve got.
The minute I forget to do this, the more troubling the hours ahead.
A few years ago, I was going to have a medical procedure that I was quite nervous about. It was only 7 months after a simple medical test that went wrong and changed the course of my physical life.
Of course, between my natural tendency to catastrophize and the fact that the thing that had a .004% chance or whatever had just happened, I catastrophized pretty hard about the upcoming medical test.
However, a few days before the upcoming appointment, I prayed: “Jesus, I don’t know the outcome. But I do know you will come.”
I don’t know if that prayer is helpful to you, but I’ve prayed it numerous times since then, because yes, even though I trust in Christ, my faith is also very weak – very, very weak – and I will always struggle, I’m afraid, with this tendency to go to the worst possible place. The A to Z, without stopping along the way.
So I need to constantly remind myself: “Jesus, even if I don’t know the outcome, I know you’ll come.”
But like I said, this tendency to catastrophize is genetic and also there’s an environmental thing growing up with it too. So if you struggle, don’t beat yourself up. Most likely, you didn’t even have a chance with coming down with this medical condition of catastrophizing.
A few, final things on all this.
First, have you seen the commercial where Matthew McConaughey says “What if” are the two most powerful words around?
They are, indeed, powerful, and I’ve noticed there are some people who think “what if?” and their eyes light up with optimistic possibility. I envy them. And I’ve had plenty of times where that’s the case for me too.
But “what if” can also take us to a dreadful place, too, can’t it? The what-ifs can dominate our lives so much, the potential catastrophes become so frequent that it almost becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Which is exactly why we need to seek medical help for this medical condition.
Soon after we were married, my wife and I noted that she said “What’s the worst that can happen?” with a “Meh, it’ll be ok” about some uncertain thing ahead, and I tended to say “What’s the worst that can happen?” and then call an insurance company and ask about a personal umbrella liability insurance policy for the most unlikely, worst possible thing.
We laughed about it, but there was a lot of truth too (somehow, we’re still married).
There’s nothing wrong with being the latter kind of person (of course I would say that, being the latter kind of person).
It’s how some of us are wired. It’s the way some of us were raised. Again, it’s not our fault.
But remember there are agents of mercy out there, ways to help us as we sort through this difficult medical condition.
Psychiatrists, therapists, exercise, prayer, breathing, Scripture, social interactions, so many things.
I’d be lying if I said “Scripture has helped me more than my medication.” I’m really not sure what has helped more. I wish I could claim the level of spirituality where Christ has so permeated my being that I have perfect confidence in every outcome. But medication has balanced me out in an inexplicable way, and why not? This is a medical condition.
And Jesus has used that medication in much the same way we would say, “Oh thank the Lord, he sent that rescue boat when I was drowning.”
Finally, when we catastrophize, remember — we know how this all ends. Maybe not this event. But our story on earth. It ends in a death that Christ has turned into a wonderful portal to reach paradise where we will be with him forever.
Nothing has helped me more than knowing that if all of it goes terribly wrong, I’ll still end up in the arms of Jesus, and that is the farthest place from a catastrophe you could be.
If you live in the United States and struggle with depression, anxiety, or any other such disorders…
Find a psychiatrist here.
Find a therapist here.
For readers, internationally, I pray you can find help from a local resource.
For salvation, Christ and Christ alone.
[Photo: Pexels, Free stock photography, Nicola Barts].
