Catastrophic thinking

Yes I can’t sleep, again... but I thought this is a topic that we should all discuss.

Catastrophic thinking ?

Have you done this before ?

Did you realize on your own or did someone point it out to you?

How do you stop it from overwhelming you?

If you see other people thinking this way, what do you think is the best way to try and help? Or do you think it’s best left up to a persons treatment team?

Thanks for responding

I am in the middle of an OCD episode. Catastrophic thinking is part of the package. The problem for me is that I get completely convinced my disasterous outcomes are really going to happen. I combine them with compulsive rituals to keep the catastrophic outcomes from happening. It's a vicious cycle. Obsessions lead to catastrophic expectations which lead to compulsive rituals to get control back. And I have no mechanism to stop it except medication. I called my psychiatrist on a Sunday. He was glad I did. He increased my Seroquel.

Do you have OCD traits?

I'm normally very chill but tonight at the end of my shift at work I had some "worst-case scenario" thinking. I still haven't heard back from my supervisor which makes me a little more nervous.

Then I think the whole situation through and I know it's fine. But normally I don't engage much in catastrophic thinking and when I see someone else engaging in it I leave it up to them and their treatment team - though I may tell them to think it through.

Yeah I think that way a lot. It affects the decisions I make, how I relate to people including my family, work, etc.

It started many years ago when I would imagine hypothetical situations and take them to their worst possible outcome. It spilled over into my regular thoughts as my anxiety got worse. It just got worse from there.

The problem is that sometimes parts of the scenarios I imagined came true so my thinking was validated.

I figured out myself that this was becoming a problem and I was getting feedback from people I know and my family that they noticed that I always imagine the worst.

I can't say I'm over it but as I get older I gain more life experience and perspective and see that not everything goes awfully wrong and even if it goes wrong it's not as extreme as I thought it would be.

Yea you know I was catastrophizing last night.

Im just really really stressed. And exhausted. I still can’t sleep.

Great thread topic!

I had read about this as a teenager. I found it very easy to stop. I often recognize this in other people. I sometimes mention it to others, Hoping they will recognize their patterns, depending upon the relationship I have with them at the time.

In growing up with a lot of chaos and in an unpredictable environment, I think this type of thinking is often a part of our experience, as well as the behavior modeled for us.
I have siblings who are in their 50's/60's and they still drive themselves into states of high anxiety by continuing this type of thinking. When I talk with them about this, the behavior, for them, seems very compulsive.
I think I am lucky I do not generally have obsessive/compulsive traits. I think it is much more difficult for some people to curb this type of thinking.

Love to All!

I do this. I think it started from trauma that happened early in my life - infancy and early childhood. It was many years before I understood this. Others have pointed out my catastrophic thinking to me and I’ve been doing it a lot lately. I really appreciate this discussion topic. It’s helpful to see how others manage this.

I have catastrophic thinking quite intensely. I do find the CBT quite helpful though. If the worst happens, what will I do. How will I cope? How likely is it to happen? What are the other possible outcomes? How will I cope? Things don’t seem so overwhelming after I have done the problem solving.

I do this, especially when I'm in one of my sleep deprived states. But usually can counter by challenging the thoughts; how likely is this, really! But sometimes when I've been without sleep for a while the thoughts take on a life of their own and I end up just being jerked around and reacting emotionally. That's always a bad place to be and I know I need to call out for help. I need the help of a person outside the chaos to point out the reality.

Christina I hope you get some decent deep restful sleep soon.

Catastrophic thinking isn't my usual, but I've had it, as well as other forms of dysfunctional thinking. [Yea, "dysfunctional thinking" is an unpleasant term, but that's how CBT calls it.] I guess my most common catastrophic thoughts are health-related. In the past, I had myself thinking I had MS, cancer, heart problems, you name it. To date, I've been wrong about them.

Like Merlin, I also found CBT the best therapy for dysfunctional thinking. A past psychologist of mine really focused on it. One of the most helpful tools was a Dysfunctional Thought Record that helps challenge such thinking. A great article on this is at:

Putting Your Thoughts on Trial: How to Use CBT Thought Records | International Bipolar Foundation

I hope you get some better sleep again soon.

There are some areas in my life that I am level-headed about. There are certain areas in which I am terrified of, and expect the absolute worst. I am angry with myself for not posting those very intense fears because I'm afraid if I post them, they'll happen.

I'd say that catastrophic thinking is the main reason I'm in therapy...well, that and learning how to better stabilize my moods.

Catastrophic thinking is one of my main cognitive distortions. I do a CBT exercise each morning on Wysa to reframe my thoughts (one thought at a time) and it’s really helped me tone down this distortion.

I realized myself that I was doing this and started using Wysa to help me with it.

When I notice others doing it, I might point it out depending on the relationship.

I have this quite a lot
I don't really have answers
Distraction etc helps sometimes.
I suppose it does need to be mentioned to someone's treatment team

I have a few OCD issues but they are cleaning and germ related.

I’m glad you called your Pdoc

Thanks but another epic fail ! Apparently I sleep a 4-5 hours one night then zero for a couple days.

Thanks everyone for sharing

So most of us deal with this in some way or another

Personally I deal with this occasionally, it’s mostly tied into my Husband and his health ( as you all know) In August when my husband got so sick so fast and wound up in the hospital.. I had to stop it by getting some control.. I had to know exact details why he was getting X meds..I need to see actual reports from lab or CT /MRI. Once I’m able to physically see that stuff I gain back control and can stop catastrophic thinking.

When it just comes out of nowhere. I have to force myself to question and Fact Check my thoughts.

I don’t think I’m bipolar. I do have catastrophic thinking. I think it has to do with trauma, when catastrophe really happens.

I’m always thinking of what’s the worst case scenario, preparing myself for it, yet hoping for the best.

Also, I was taught to think this way by my mother who catastrophizes. But, she’s also had trauma. She’s often stopped me from doing something she was too worried about me doing, warning and scaring me about what could happen.

Yes, this is a big problem for me. Sheltiemom, I also have OCD and I find this to definitely be part of the package, especially when I get stuck in my head ruminating on obsessive thoughts.

I am trying to be more mindful of it. I found a phrase that helps me when I repeat it to myself is "there's no emergency until there is an emergency". It seems like stating the obvious, but when my fear response gets going it's a way of talking to myself and reminding myself I am catastrophizing. Actually this is how I helped myself with the flight anxiety I was telling you about. Usually if I have gone from the situation in the here and now and made 100 assumptions that "might" happen and then ended up at the worst possible scenario as my conclusion I know I am catastrophizing haha.
I've gotten better at catching it when other people do it now, too.

Yes. This isn’t just a Bipolar issue it can and does happen mental illness or not.

I also lived most of my life always expecting the worse so when things worked out ok it was a nice surprise....

But I have worked though that in therapy and no longer think like that I’d say 90% of the time.

My husband said he has never had any catastrophic thinking and I believe it ! he’s very much in the moment, take one step at a time kinda guy, he also can lay down and be asleep in literally 1-2 mins. He might be an alien

Maybe you should send a sample of your husbands blood to the FBI at the department that Mulder and Skully worked for?

OMG Yes !!! LOL

I used to spend a lot of time entertaining catastrophic thoughts. I was volunterring my time trying to better some pretty dark situations and it started to bleed over into many aspects of my life. I started to see many things through an abusive worst case scenario lens. I did not realize the toll it was taking on my psyche until I was in IP after an extreme breakdown.

I took a hard look at myself and my life choices as a result. I realized I needed to care for my mind the same way I do my body or any other aspect of my health. I started analyzing my thoughts and looking for patterns. I became a lot more self aware.

I then forced myself to ask the question I ask of my teams before we go down any proposed path. 'Does this add value and if so, how?' Taking a look at a line of thought and testing it to see how it would benefit or hinder my mental health helps me jump off unhealthy trains of thought before they leave the station. A therapist once told me that relapse begins with entertaining unhealthy thoughts and I took that to heart.

I'm now better able to avoid delusional, irrational or catastrophic thoughts this way because even if the scenarios are 'possible', thinking through them does not add as much value to my day as refocusing on something else more productive does. The frequency of the intrusive and catastrophic thoughts lessens the more I redirect them. I don't challenge them or argue with myself over their validity. I simply push them aside because they are less valuable. It feels a bit like training for my brain, but the patterns are shifting in the right direction.

At first I started trying to challenge each thought. I would consider how unlikely it was, but then my brain would serve up fact after fact from my previous research to validate that the thought was in fact a valid concern. That battle took time and did not help my health. In fact, it was exhausting. I'm finding that just recognizing it will hurt me to entertain these thoughts and that I have healthier options is a better strategy for me. It allows me to accept that the catastrophic situations could be valid, but they simply aren't the best possible use of my time.