catastrophiser
Worst-case thinker
A catastrophiser is someone who habitually imagines the worst possible outcome or blows situations out of proportion.
The tendency involves spiraling from minor setbacks to disaster scenarios: She's such a catastrophiser—one headache and she's convinced it's a brain tumor.
Also spelled catastrophizer.
The verb is catastrophise.
One who overstates threats
- doomsayerPredictor of catastrophe
- worrywartHabitual fretter, informal
- Chicken LittleFolk tale's famous worrywart
- CassandraIgnored prophet of doom
Eeyore · prophet of doom · scaremonger · naysayer · wet blanket · killjoy · downer · Jeremiah
Expecting unfavorable outcomes
- negativityDisposition toward pessimism
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
- cynicismDistrust of human sincerity
- doomUnavoidable grim fate
gloom · hopelessness · defeatism · bleakness · nihilism · morbidity · melancholy · distrust
Disproportionate emotional response
- exaggerationOverstating beyond reality
- alarmismNeedless raising of fears
- dramatizationConverting events to performance
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
sensationalism · overstatement · magnification · amplification · escalation · overestimation · overemphasis · hysteria
Persistent apprehensive distress
- worryTroubled mental state
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- fearEmotional response to threat
- apprehensionNervous anticipation of trouble
trepidation · panic · alarm · foreboding · angst · unease · nervousness · distress
alarmist
One who overstates threats
- doomsayerPredictor of catastrophe
- worrywartHabitual fretter, informal
- Chicken LittleFolk tale's famous worrywart
Cassandra · Eeyore · prophet of doom · scaremonger · naysayer · wet blanket · killjoy · downer · Jeremiah · worry wart
pessimism
Expecting unfavorable outcomes
- negativityDisposition toward pessimism
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
- cynicismDistrust of human sincerity
doom · gloom · hopelessness · defeatism · bleakness · nihilism · morbidity · melancholy · distrust · skepticism
overreaction
Disproportionate emotional response
- exaggerationOverstating beyond reality
- alarmismNeedless raising of fears
- dramatizationConverting events to performance
hyperbole · sensationalism · overstatement · magnification · amplification · escalation · overestimation · overemphasis · hysteria · melodrama
anxiety
Persistent apprehensive distress
apprehension · trepidation · panic · alarm · foreboding · angst · unease · nervousness · distress · overwhelm
catastrophiseroptimist
Habitually hopeful person
Pollyanna · Panglossian · hopeful · idealist · utopian
catastrophiserstoic
Uncomplaining endurer of hardship
minimiser · downplayer · pragmatist · realist · zen master