How to stop catastrophizing

Catastrophizing is a type of cognitive distortion. It's a faulty and inaccurate way of thinking that involves imagining the worst possible outcome in a given situation. Catastrophizing can hold people back in life, work, and relationships and we all do it in some way, and some of us do it a lot more than others. Understanding the natural psychological processes behind catastrophizing can help us build awareness and learn to create a more balanced and productive view of our futures. - - - Connect with Sam: Sam's newsletter on creativity - Explosive Thinking Watch the pod - YouTube - Growth Mindset Twitter - @samjamharris Instagram - @SamJam.zen - - - Chapters 00:00 What is catastrophising 03:00 Build awareness 05:52 Magnifying and minimising 07:15 The problem with imagined details 08:58 The human tendency to invent stories 12:01 Catastrophizing and being diagnosed with ADHD 14:56 Balancing worst and best scenarios 16:02 Social anxiety 17:48 Write a journal 19:10 Alex Hormozi selling gym subscriptions 19:48 Want and don't want chair 22:08 4 step method for mitigating catastrophization 22:13 Step 1 - Awareness 23:20 Step 2 - Challenging the thought 24:03 Step 3 - Imagine the best 24:34 Step 4 - Accept uncertainty 26:19 Catastrophizing is the opposite of Growth mindset 26:40 Therapy & CBT 29:20 Episode Summary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices