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Take These Steps to Avoid Catastrophizing
Getting stuck in a negative spiral of thought can be paralyzing instead of freeing you up to identify more effective solutionsMy friend Rory is in his mid-sixties, plays tennis, works out at the gym, watches what he eats and is generally healthy. But one day on the tennis court, he felt pain in his ankle, which he hoped would go away on its own. The next day he felt a twinge in his back that concerned him and that hampered his play. And then he felt a mild throbbing somewhere in his brain.
His girlfriend said to him, "Rory, you have to see a doctor and get everything checked out."
Rory finally agreed. But inside, he was thinking, "that's it, I'm a goner. The pain in my brain could be a tumor. What if I die soon?" He started catastrophizing and thinking the worst. And for many people, that negative thinking, which imagines the worst possible outcomes, comes naturally and often is an exaggerated response to a certain fear.
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Take These Steps to Avoid Catastrophizing
Getting stuck in a negative spiral of thought can be paralyzing instead of freeing you up to identify more effective solutions