Sage Solutions
Advice and insight about personal growth, personal development, and becoming your best self.
Sage Solutions
How to Stop Catastrophizing and Start Living
Fear has a way of twisting our perception, doesn't it? That small mistake at work suddenly threatens your entire career. The awkward social moment becomes evidence that everyone secretly dislikes you. This mental spiral—catastrophizing—feels protective but actually amplifies our suffering.
David and Anna Sage unpack this universal human tendency with both scientific insight and personal vulnerability. Anna courageously shares her lifelong struggle with catastrophic thinking, especially in social situations, while David explains how our ancient survival mechanisms misfire in modern contexts. Their conversation moves beyond simply identifying the problem to offering practical, evidence-based solutions that listeners can implement immediately.
What makes this episode particularly valuable is its nuanced approach to different catastrophizing scenarios. The hosts distinguish between "small-scale" catastrophizing (personal situations within our control) and "big-scale" catastrophizing (larger events beyond our influence), providing tailored strategies for each. From mindful stoicism to rational optimism, the episode presents a toolkit rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.
Research supports their guidance—studies show traditional pessimism doesn't actually prepare us for negative outcomes but instead intensifies both emotional distress and physical pain. The alternative they propose—rational optimism paired with practical planning—offers a more effective approach to life's uncertainties.
Whether you're facing a job evaluation, relationship challenges, or anxiety about world events, this episode provides clarity about why your brain jumps to worst-case scenarios—and more importantly, how to interrupt that pattern. These techniques don't just reduce anxiety; they help restore your sense of agency and perspective when fear threatens to overwhelm.
Subscribe to continue this journey toward greater self-awareness and emotional resilience. Your thoughts shape your reality—learn to choose them wisely.
We would love to hear your feedback! Click here to tell us what you think.
https://sagesolutions.buzzsprout.com
If you are interested in one-on-one coaching, email us at:
sagecoachingsolutions@gmail.com
**Legal Disclaimer**
The Sage Solutions Podcast and content posted by David Sage is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. No coaching client relationship is formed by listening to this podcast. No Legal, Medical or Financial advice is being given. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user's own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice, diagnosis, or treatment of a psychotherapist, physician, professional coach, Lawyer or other qualified professional. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions. The opinions of guests are their own and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of the podcast.
Welcome to the Sage Solutions Podcast, where we talk about all things personal growth, personal development and becoming your best self. My name is David Sage and I am a self-worth and confidence coach with Sage Coaching Solutions. Today, I'm joined by my co-host and sister, anna Sage.
Speaker 2:Hey, hey.
Speaker 1:Anna has more lived experience with the topic that we're talking about today, so I'm going to let her introduce it.
Speaker 2:Have you ever found yourself in a position where you feel like you're spiraling? You're spiraling. Your thoughts are making you feel overwhelmed and every angle you look at just seems to be against you. As you keep thinking, it just seems to get worse and worse and worse and there seems to be no way out. Well, if you're saying, yep, I've been there before, you're not alone, because that used to be me for a majority of my life, when I would come across a problem or when I was faced with an obstacle. That experience of negative thought spiraling is commonly referred to as catastrophizing.
Speaker 1:Before we get into it. Our goal with this podcast is to share free, helpful tools with you and anyone you know who is looking to improve their life. So take action, subscribe and share this podcast with them. The word catastrophizing comes from the word catastrophe, but when you're catastrophizing, it's not creating a literal catastrophe or a disaster that would make headlines. We're talking about the inner narrative of catastrophic thinking that can hold us back. So let's explore what catastrophizing actually is, how it takes place in our minds, why we're prone to it and, most importantly, how we can overcome it to live a more clear and peaceful life.
Speaker 2:The people I work with today would probably be pretty surprised to hear that I used to be a habitual catastrophizer that I used to be a habitual catastrophizer. These days, I'm usually one of the first to recognize when people are catastrophizing and say, hey, hold on one second, let's reframe that or let's focus on our locus and focus on one step at a time. But that's not something that always came naturally to me. It's something that I've had to intentionally practice and retrain my brain to think differently about and, honestly, I'm not perfect, so there are definitely still times where I find myself spiraling mentally or catastrophizing.
Speaker 1:And, frankly, no one is.
Speaker 1:I'm not particularly prone to catastrophizing, but I still do it from time to time too, and it's because we, as humans, evolved in a way that catastrophizing actually had some beneficial use, but the world that we live in today is so different from the world that we lived in when it was beneficial.
Speaker 1:I don't want to get too into the weeds, though, before we actually explain exactly what catastrophizing is. Catastrophizing is a form of cognitive distortion where we exaggerate the likelihood or the impact of negative events that are either happening in our life or could happen in our life. Instead of viewing challenges or setbacks as manageable, we transform them in our minds into these overwhelming disasters that get worse and worse the more that we think about them. An example would be if you make a small mistake at work, you might instantly think this is going to ruin my career, and then you start thinking about well, where am I going to get another job after they fire me? And on and on and on, until you are homeless, living in a box, and nobody likes you. Obviously, this isn't realistically what's going to happen, but our minds still do this exercise, regardless of whether it's realistic or not.
Speaker 2:When I was a kid. This would show up for me most when I was feeling very insecure in a social setting with my peers. If I'd make some sort of small social faux pas, I would start thinking, oh my gosh, now everybody's laughing at me. I'd think that other people around me who are whispering oh, they must be talking about me and thinking now they're going to go and tell their friends about what happened. And now the whole school's going to know about what happened. And it was quite unrealistic. But in my head it was just feeding off of my fear that I was unliked and not good enough.
Speaker 1:Instead of seeing it as just one normal human mistake, it became this grandiose, life-changing error that was going to ruin the rest of your school life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it does sound a little too dramatic the way we're framing it, but I think realistically in my head it was more like kids wouldn't forget about it, like that they'd carry it with them about me, but in the moment. Yeah, in the moment though, like I didn't't think it was like.
Speaker 2:Now the whole school is going to be talking about this small thing I did, but it was more so now. That impact is going to stay with them about me and they're never going to see me as anything but like oh that weird kid, does that make sense?
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that makes sense.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I think sometimes, when we are explaining it as so extreme, people might not be able to relate to it Like, well, I've never thought of to the point I'm going to be homeless. But it doesn't always have to be that extreme.
Speaker 1:No, you're right, and I was probably over-exaggerating in the way that I said it, because for some people it might be that extreme. For some people it might be that extreme. I was more just trying to get across the fact that it would be lasting, that this would have a long-term negative impact. That was way disproportionate to the reality. Right, this pattern of thinking is more common than you might realize. This pattern of thinking is more common than you might realize.
Speaker 1:It's not about being overly pessimistic, however, pessimism definitely makes it worse. If you have a pessimistic outlook, it is going to fuel this. It's like throwing extra gas on the fire. But it doesn't come from pessimism. It's about the brain's natural tendency to focus on potential threats, about the brain's natural tendency to focus on potential threats, a habit that once helped our ancestors, like I said before, to survive. Figuring out the worst case scenario being programmed into our brains, when it was literally life or death, survival, could help us plan for the worst case scenario. People that planned for the worst case scenario tended to survive the worst case scenario. People that planned for the worst case scenario tended to survive the worst case scenario. The people that didn't died off. But now, because we're not running away from tigers. It can hinder our ability to enjoy the present moment.
Speaker 2:That makes a lot of sense and that resonates with me. I think little Anna, who had a lot of insecurity of herself in school settings, socially, was intentionally trying to be aware of the worst case scenario in advance, thinking that at least if I could prepare myself for it mentally, it wouldn't hurt so bad if it happened in real life. So although I was trying to protect myself from pain, rejection in the future, I didn't realize at the time that it was just preventing me from being at peace in the moment.
Speaker 1:So why do we keep falling into this trap of catastrophizing? Well, for one, like I said, we have that evolutionary wiring. Our brains are hardwired to detect threats. The ancient survival mechanism that once kept us alive from physical dangers often misfires because the world that we live in is so different than the one that we used to live in. We have this system fire as if a tiger is chasing us or as if something terrible is happening in normal everyday life, causing us to catastrophize and plan for survival in situations that have nothing to do with survival.
Speaker 1:It also becomes a learned behavior. Over time, we might learn that anticipating the worst can occasionally help us prepare for that failure, for example, by thinking if I fail this project, everything will collapse. We think that we might convince ourselves that we are getting ready for the disaster, or even possibly trying to motivate ourselves to not have it happen, even though this only actually increases our anxiety. Even though this only actually increases our anxiety. A study by Sullivan and colleagues in 2001 found that individuals who engage in catastrophizing tend to experience higher levels of both emotional distress and physical pain. The research highlighted that this type of thinking doesn't just affect our mood. It can also have tangible effects on our overall well-being. Additionally, our environment plays a significant role. Constant exposure to sensationalized negative news and social media feeds that emphasize the worst-case scenarios can reinforce our tendency to catastrophize. This cultural backdrop can make our fears seem not only plausible but inevitable.
Speaker 2:Reflecting on what you just said, I'm thinking of catastrophizing in two different ways. One would be like big world catastrophizing and then another maybe like small world catastrophizing, and here's what I mean by that, in my head at least. Big world catastrophizing would be catastrophizing about things that are beyond your own personal actions and control, like a new initiative or system being put in at your work that is going to change up a lot of the world that you knew it. In your position and your role, or even on a broader scale, like a new presidency, you can actively control things that are choices you need to make for yourself or a mistake that you already made, that you're trying to prevent yourself from being hurt by making the wrong choice or from having an awful impact because of the choice you already made. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's an interesting way of conceptualizing it. Let's dig a little more into the small scale ones here for a second. You talked about making a mistake and then catastrophizing what you thought the effects of that mistake that you actively made were. But could you touch on the scenarios where you haven't made a mistake yet and how the catastrophizing into the future happens in that smaller scale realm?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I can think of one example. When I was offered an internship position for student teaching, I had the choice of two different schools, two different grade levels, and it felt like a huge life choice, even though, in the grand scheme of things, that wasn't going to change the trajectory of my life one way or the other. It was either way going to be a teaching placement. But anyways, when I was trying to consider which placement would be the best fit for me, I started putting a lot more weight on the potential negatives of each placement and the potential negatives of not choosing the other placement. Like, well, what if I choose this placement and then I find out that the other one would have been the perfect fit for me and I lose out on working with that grade level because that grade level would have been a better fit? Or what if the teacher at the other placement is a better teacher that I could have learned from and I now missed the opportunity to learn from somebody who's excellent as opposed to just somebody who's pretty good.
Speaker 1:So it seems like one of the things that contributed to your general indecisiveness being a weaker skill for you, as you've said in previous podcasts is because, when you think about them, you're jumping into catastrophizing and that also seems to come with some perfectionism and a ton of extra pressure on having to make the perfect decision and then, by catastrophizing and projecting the worst possible situation on both of them, you're making the choice so much more pressured and with so much more weight that it makes it hard to make the choice, because it feels like it's life or death from the catastrophizing right.
Speaker 2:Right, and I do feel a little more removed from that, since that was years ago. I want to give a different example that could be more relatable for those that aren't in the education field and are like, okay, yeah, that doesn't mean anything to me Right now I actually am actively trying to reframe my thinking around my evaluation at my new job that is coming up and I'm putting a lot of weight on it because it does have big implications for me, or it could, I guess. I don't really know yet, but if my evaluation were to go really well, maybe there could be a potential that I could get a raise, and that has a big impact on my life and my well-being. Now, while this is another example of small-scale catastrophizing, it's a little different than the example I gave earlier, where I was faced with a choice and putting a lot of weight on the negative possibilities of each choice.
Speaker 2:The reason I'm giving this example is twofold One, a lot of people have evaluations in their work and I think they could relate to it, no matter what field they work in. And two, I'm actively going through it right now, so you can even maybe give me some advice of how to reframe as I'm preparing for my evaluation. Of course I'm doing everything I can to be as prepared as possible. Of course I don't want to mess it up. However, if I'm nervous or something unexpected happens, it might be a little bit out of my control. So my brain starts coming up with all the possible small things that could happen out of my control that could lead to my evaluation going poorly and that just makes me more anxious about it, which makes it, I know, logically more likely to happen that I'm going to mess something up. So how do I navigate my anxiety surrounding the pressure of this to reframe my catastrophizing so that I don't end up messing it up for myself?
Speaker 1:Before I tell you exactly how to handle your specific situation, I want to talk about how we overcome catastrophizing as a whole, and then I will zone it into your specific situation.
Speaker 2:Sounds great.
Speaker 1:Okay. So catastrophizing comes from a culmination of a series of different things that we've talked about in previous episodes. When you're catastrophizing, you're being overcome by fear. It often spirals and creates anxiety and eventually leads to the feeling of overwhelm. When you have a scarcity mindset and you believe that everything is a zero-sum game and that there isn't enough for everyone to go around, that can definitely contribute to it. If you're viewing things as black and white, of course you're going to blow things out of proportion, and if you're setting yourself up for negative expectations, you're more likely to actually have those things happen. What we talked about in the episode on expectations was that it was best to hope for the best, not to expect the best, but also that expecting the worst actually made the worst more likely to happen.
Speaker 1:There's a fundamental flaw in the logic behind catastrophizing, especially when studies actually show that catastrophizing about something and then having it happen does not actually make the pain of having it happen any better. You've actually built it up to be an even bigger problem. You've felt so much more pain in the catastrophizing phase than half of the time when it actually happens, and then, when it actually happens, it hurts just as much, if not more. When you ruminate on something like that and you are catastrophizing, having this scarcity mindset, the fear is overwhelming you and you have negative expectations. You're often not even doing any planning that's productive or helpful. You're just repeatedly beating yourself up as if this terrible thing is happening to you now. You're putting yourself through pain that might not even happen and, as we just discussed, you're not reducing the pain if it does. This is why taking the approach of pessimism and also cynicism doesn't actually help you or prepare you for the situation to be any better.
Speaker 1:Catastrophizing and putting yourself in a state of hopelessness is never helpful. Hopelessness helps no one. You want hope. Otherwise, you're going to just feel defeated and give up. This is the big difference between worrying about something and planning for it, about something and planning for it.
Speaker 1:So, instead of resorting to pessimism and catastrophizing and setting negative expectations, I'm going to make the argument for the opposite optimism. Now, I understand it's easier said than done. Just saying hey, don't worry isn't actually that productive. But it's important to understand that worrying isn't benefiting you. So don't trick yourself into believing that you're helping. What I'm advocating for is what I'm calling rational or realistic optimism. This is where we do actually identify realistic things that could go wrong. But we have to be realistic. We're using shades of gray thinking here to be realistic and rational about what could go wrong and then actually building a plan to make sure that those things don't go wrong. Those things don't go wrong, then we're hoping for the best and taking an optimistic outlook because we know that we've already planned for the things that could go wrong, which means that the situation is more likely to go right. Therefore, why not hope for the best and help make it happen?
Speaker 2:Rational optimism Well, hearing you say that I might have actually already answered my own question, Can I share my thinking?
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:So I already have a lot of the skills I need to to be able to recognize when I'm doing something unhelpful, like catastrophizing or focusing on the negatives. It's just a matter of taking a step back and remembering the tools I have and the things that are helpful, to be able to practice and reframe. Now that I've been listening to you and reflecting on it, I already know what I need to do when I have my evaluation. If I make a mistake, I mix up my words or I switch up the order of the lesson that I'm going through that I've planned out well and thoroughly in advance, or I miss a part of it. Well, you know what I might stop and use that as a learning opportunity for my students, because that's still going to reflect well on me for my supervisor to see that I say you know what. Even adults make mistakes too, and that's okay. We can be flexible, we can shift. Let's go ahead and get into what it should be, because that's just as valuable.
Speaker 1:I couldn't agree with you more. I think that that's a really good evaluation of how you can handle your current situation, but let's remember that your current situation is one of future prediction. We talked about how catastrophizing happens in multiple different situations. One of those situations is when you are worried about the outcomes of something in the future, whether it be a decision or something going wrong. Another is what happens when you just did something, made a mistake, and now you are catastrophizing about the outcomes that will come of that. The approaches that we have to take are a bit different. Rational optimism is still helpful there, and I will be doing an episode on it in the future.
Speaker 1:But I want to talk about the other half, or the flip side, which is a combination of two different podcasts that we did in the past, if not more Mindful Stoicism, combining the practices of mindfulness and Stoicism. They might seem like they're somewhat opposed, but that's the power of mindfulness and stoicism. They might seem like they're somewhat opposed, but that's the power of it Leaning into whichever strategy makes more sense at the time, using a shades of gray approach and either taking the mindful approach or the stoic approach, based on what is most helpful in the moment. These include things like giving yourself self-compassion when you screw something up. Having self-compassion instead of beating yourself up and shaming yourself is going to be much more productive. Being mindful and taking a break to either breathe or walk or meditate, or many other things that we could do using mindfulness to remove ourselves from that situation. We are using mindfulness to bring ourselves and our awareness to the present moment and away from spiraling or catastrophizing about the possible implications or the future. We can also redirect our attention to things like gratitude and the things that we're grateful for. It's hard to spiral while we're truly feeling grateful. But beyond just focusing on our breath or taking a mindful walk, mindfulness also gives us the tools to actually be present with and give ourselves the permission to feel our emotions instead of suppressing them, which actually helps us be more resilient and get through that situation.
Speaker 1:Now, depending on the situation and the urgency of the matter, it might actually be more effective to take the stoic approach.
Speaker 1:If you're in a crisis situation, you might not have time to give yourself permission to feel. You might need to take the stoic approach of I have to shut those down for a second and set those emotions aside to get myself out of this crisis and be as logical as I can. I need to focus on the immediate obstacle or problem in front of me, and so the obstacle becomes the way. I understand that those emotions are happening and I will come back and take the mindful approach as soon as I have time for it, but right now I am going to change my perspective of reality and reframe to what is most helpful in the situation. I'm going to focus on my locus of control and do everything that I can to get myself out of this crisis situation and then, when I have the space, I can give myself a break and give myself permission to feel those emotions. Depending on the situation, we can choose either approach and get through it with whichever is more beneficial right in the moment.
Speaker 2:Wow, so well said. So you have addressed both forms of the small-scale catastrophizing that we've discussed, both in the future catastrophizing and because of something that has already happened. Would you then advise people to take the stoic or mindful approach for large-scale catastrophizing as well, because there's a lot of that going around right now? Scale?
Speaker 1:catastrophizing as well, because there's a lot of that going around right now. For large scale catastrophizing, focus on your locus of control. If this big scale thing is out of your control, how much worrying do you need to do to fix it? If you do more worrying, if you spend more time catastrophizing, are you going to solve the problem? Now? Maybe, if you're in a position of power where your locus of control can actually do that, maybe you should spend some time thinking about it. But, as we said, catastrophizing probably isn't the best approach. But let's say you're not.
Speaker 1:Is it helpful for all of the other things in your life to spend a huge chunk of your time catastrophizing on something that you can't do anything about? No, so what's the point of doing all of this extra ruminating? What's the point? You're not. You don't have agency here. Focus on your locus. I'm not saying ignore everything else, but you can take control of your conscious perspective and focus on the things that you can do to give yourself a feeling of agency and power when you feel powerless from negative things that you don't have control over. So, yes, mindful stoicism, give yourself the permission to feel when you need to when things happen in your life that are out of your control, but also take the stoic approach when things are out of your control. Focus on your locus, take control of your conscious perspective of reality and break down what you need to do into small, simple steps.
Speaker 1:Catastrophizing often results in overwhelm, so there's going to be a huge overlap in the strategies. When we talked about overwhelm, we talked about mindfulness, we talked about locus of control and we talked about small, simple steps. Well, if catastrophizing gets you to overwhelm, then using the things that get you out of overwhelm before you get to overwhelm can also stop the same process. Overwhelm can also stop the same process. And because fear is often the driver behind catastrophizing, we can also utilize courage, which is one of the stoic virtues. Standing up for being brave and facing your fears.
Speaker 2:Being courageous is another way to handle catastrophizing big and out of my control that I don't feel I can actively change. I'm not going to put a lot of emotional investment into the large scale things that are causing me to catastrophize. People have made the argument of well, isn't that just apathy? Isn't that just showing you aren't caring?
Speaker 1:So why don't you take on that role? Let's say you're telling me that, right? Yeah, my response to you would be I think that's an interesting point. How much difference are you making in this large scale thing by catastrophizing?
Speaker 2:None. But what about if it's something that has a big impact on your life and it really does matter for your day-to-day life? It's not something that's far-fetched or out of reach.
Speaker 1:And how is catastrophizing helping fix it?
Speaker 2:It's not.
Speaker 1:This big scale thing happened. It's having a negative effect on your life. This big scale thing happened. It's having a negative effect on your life, so give yourself permission to feel the emotions that you feel about it.
Speaker 1:You shouldn't be shaming yourself for thinking about something outside of our locus of control. It's not that black and white. All I'm saying is, if you spend all of your waking time worrying about things that you can't and aren't actually doing anything about, it's not that helpful. Now, if there are things in your locus of control, even if they're small, that can make a difference, then maybe you should consider doing those things. What I'm not advocating for is lying to yourself about your locus of control and telling yourself that you have no control when you actually do. I'm not advocating for just pure apathy and indifference to everything that you don't have absolute control over.
Speaker 1:In fact, the Stoics believed in accomplishing and doing hard things. Marcus Aurelius ruled an empire. Abraham Lincoln started a war for a civil war, for civil rights. The Stoics are about being honest with yourself, with your locus of control, taking control of that conscious perspective and using it to do everything in your power to solve those big, hard problems. Get creative, use more than one or two-step thinking to find ways to do something about it in your locus of control. Use courage, even if it might be hard. Remember the obstacle is the way. But maybe make what you're doing and the time that you're spending proportional to how much of a difference it can make or that you can make.
Speaker 2:That's good advice, so make sure your thinking aligns with the proportionality of your control.
Speaker 1:Making decisions based on catastrophizing and pessimistic projections is giving into fear. It's not courage, it's not finding what you can do in the face of fear. It's giving in to fear. This is why we have to objectively and realistically look at situations and try and use our critical thinking and shades of gray to determine what's real and what has happened and what is happening in any given situation, so that we're making rational and pragmatic, helpful decisions, not just because we're feeling fear in the moment.
Speaker 2:All right. So does that sum it up? Is there anything else we can do to help us deal with catastrophizing?
Speaker 1:Well, there's a little bit more that comes from a slightly different approach. The encouraging news is that catastrophizing is a habit. It's a pattern and a thought that we can change with practice and by using some of the tools that I just talked about. A couple other strategies that we can use is to develop awareness. The first step is that recognizing when you're slipping into catastrophic thinking helps us bring ourselves back out of it. Notice those what-if thoughts that escalate small problems into huge crises. Once you're aware, you can begin to challenge these thoughts by asking is this realistic and the real worst case scenario?
Speaker 1:Another thing is utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy and the techniques that it offers. It has powerful tools that help us reframe negative thoughts Instead of letting a minor setback spiral out of control. Cbt teaches you to view challenges as opportunities and obstacles to overcome, just like stoicism does. Research by Cortana and colleagues in 2009 supported the effectiveness of this approach. Their study found that reframing catastrophic thoughts not only reduced emotional distress, but also alleviated physical pain.
Speaker 1:Another helpful tool is to talk it out with somebody that you know and trust. Sometimes, sharing your worries with a trusted friend or family member, or even your therapist, can provide a fresh perspective. Verbalizing your fears can help diminish their intensity and remind you that many of your concerns are more imagined than they are real. And lastly, positive affirmation. We can replace some of these catastrophic what-ifs with positive what-ifs through affirmations that focus on our strengths and our past successes. To echo the wisdom of William James, the great weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. The quote reminds us that we have the agency to steer our minds towards empowering and realistic perspectives.
Speaker 2:Similar to those small, simple steps that you mentioned for both catastrophizing and overwhelm. Something I've found particularly helpful when I'm catastrophizing or overwhelmed with something or when I have a colleague or friend who's experiencing that, is to suggest writing down each of the tasks or things you need to work through into a list and then categorizing them by what can be taken care of now, or what needs to be done first and what things can be taken care of later, and then picking just one of those things to focus on at a time.
Speaker 1:Which makes it so much less overwhelming, and it helps clear your brain of having 12 million thoughts about it going on at the same time. So, to bring this all together, let's take a moment to reflect. Catastrophizing is a common cognitive trap, a way that our minds try to protect us, but it often backfires. By understanding that it's a learned pattern influenced by both biology and our environment, we can start to take these active steps to change our narrative. When you catch yourself in a cycle of catastrophic thoughts, remember that you have choices. You can allow these thoughts to dominate your day or you can gently challenge them and choose a more balanced perspective. Whether it's through mindful stoicism, rational optimism, cognitive behavioral therapy techniques or simply talking through it with someone who knows and understands you, every small step helps rewire your thinking, and we've all been there. I've been there myself, caught in the grip of catastrophic thinking, where every small setback seems like an insurmountable disaster. But over time, learning to recognize these patterns and actively challenge them through our conscious perspective has transformed how I view challenges and setbacks. It's an ongoing journey, but every effort to pause and reframe my thoughts has made a profound difference. If you're struggling with catastrophizing, know that change is possible. Embrace the journey with patience and self-compassion. Remember it's not about eliminating worry entirely. It's about creating a balanced perspective that allows you to thrive even in the face of uncertainty. And remember you are enough and you deserve to fill up your inner cup with happiness, confidence and self-compassion.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Sage Solutions Podcast. Your time is valuable and I'm so glad that you choose to learn and grow here with me. If you haven't already, don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on more Sage advice. One last thing the legal language. This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. No coaching client relationship is formed. It is not intended as a substitute for the personalized advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist or other qualified professional.