What category does Catastrophizing belong to?

Catastrophizing belongs to the "Concepts" category in personal knowledge management and productivity.

What are the key topics related to Catastrophizing?

Key topics related to Catastrophizing include: psychology, mental-health, thinking, anxieties, cognition, cognitive-biases.

Catastrophizing

Q: What are alternative names for Catastrophizing?

Catastrophizing is also known as: Magnification, Making mountains out of molehills, Worst-case thinking.

A cognitive distortion involving irrational thoughts that something is far worse than it actually is.

Also known as: Magnification, Making mountains out of molehills, Worst-case thinking

Category: Concepts

Tags: psychology, mental-health, thinking, anxieties, cognition, cognitive-biases

Explanation

Catastrophizing is a cognitive distortion where we assume the worst-case scenario will occur, or magnify the severity of situations beyond reality. It involves two key components: magnification (blowing things out of proportion) and minimization (undervaluing our ability to cope). For example, a minor mistake at work becomes 'I'll definitely get fired.' Catastrophizing activates the stress response, creating real physiological effects from imagined threats. It's common in anxiety disorders but affects everyone at times. Challenging catastrophizing involves: examining evidence for and against catastrophic predictions, estimating realistic probabilities, considering alternative outcomes, and assessing your actual ability to cope even if the worst happened. Journaling helps capture and examine catastrophic thoughts. Recognizing this pattern is the first step to breaking it.

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