6 Immediate Steps to Take to Stop Catastrophizing and Reduce Overwhelm in the Process

As doctors, our profession often requires us to catastrophize.  

Never heard of this term before?  

Those who struggle with anxiety tend to do this.  Basically, your brain jumps to the worst-case scenario down the rabbit hole in order to plan and protect itself.

Often, physicians must rule out the worst-case scenario.  If someone comes in with chest pain, they have to make sure it’s not a heart attack.  Perhaps catastrophization goes hand in hand with the Hippocratic Oath.  This practice saves lives at work and yet can be detrimental in our personal lives.

Soon after I had my newborn, I left him for a few hours during my maternity leave for an office meeting.  Upon my return, I noticed his babysitter had a cold sore.  If the germs from the cold sore come into contact with the baby’s eyes, nose, or mouth, he can get herpes encephalitis which can be a devastating disease.  Well of course, I freaked out and promptly sent her home.  

I immediately started googling HSV and looked up information in a medical database called UpToDate.  I frantically called my family friend pediatrician asking her about it.  Had the nanny touched her cold sore then the nipple of the bottle feeding my two-month-old?  And around and around my brain went-in tornado-like swirls.  It was agonizing.  Eventually, time passed and luckily my kid survived!  He didn’t contract HSV. 

In the course of my lifetime, my brain has probably spent DAYS with worst case scenarios.  Meditation and receiving coaching provided me with distance from myself and my thoughts.  I could identify them for what they were.  I’m proud that now when I catastrophize, I notice it at the beginning and catch it from the earth’s muddy surface before I dive deep towards the burning hot center.  Life’s twists and turns are much more manageable now.  

A client of mine found herself catastrophizing during COVID.  Every time someone would cough or sneeze in her clinic, she would start thinking she might contract COVID and bring it home to her family.  She would feel out of control at work constantly.  This made her feel anxious and terrible and was self-propogating.  

We armed her with some steps she could work through whenever this happened: 

1. Where is the anxiety in your body?

2. Notice the feeling, take a few deep breaths 

3. Why does a part of me feel anxious?

4. What's the worst-case scenario?

5. How likely is worst case scenario?

6. If it happened before, what happened that time?

This process provided her with immense relief and she now walks around a little lighter and less terrified.  

If we are able to see catastrophization for what it is, we can begin to gain some much-needed distance from it and lessen the duration of those panic-stricken moments.  This is a first step in reducing stress levels.  Good luck!