How to reduce catastrophic thinking

A big part of anxiety is catastrophic thinking.

What I mean by that is the worst-case scenario thoughts we tend to have.

Take public speaking, for example. Some catastrophic thinking around that could be, ‘What if I forget what I’m supposed to be saying’ or ‘what if I freeze up and everyone laughs at me.’

The more we think about the thing we are stressed about, the more importance we give it.

So the more I think about this presentation, the more importance I am assigning to what it means to me, and the worse it will be when it goes wrong.

But the thing about these catastrophic thoughts and nightmare situations that we envisage is they aren’t real. They are a product of our imagination, and they cause us to fear things that do not at present and might never exist.

So how can we deal with these thoughts?

A straightforward way is to change your assessment of the situation.

Remember that old Doctor Pepper slogan — ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ Try thinking a bit more like that.

What we are aiming to do here is to reduce the importance or meaning that we are giving to a situation that is making us anxious.

So going back to the presentation example — ‘So what if I freeze? I can always take my time to gather my composure. No one is going to mind’.

It takes practice, but we can eventually get to a point where we can dismiss these negative feedback loops and distance ourselves from them.

If you take a moment to pause and listen to what those thoughts are saying, you’ll begin to notice how ridiculous some of them sound. Once you start to see that, it can reduce the significance you are giving to whatever you are focusing on that makes you anxious.

Step by step, ask yourself these questions:

1) Do I really believe that thought?

2) Can I 100% verify it is true?

3) Who am I without that thought

4) What is the better story?