catastrophising
Assuming the worst
Catastrophising is the British spelling of catastrophizing, the act of imagining or treating a situation as far worse than it actually is.
The mind spirals toward the most terrible possible outcomes, often without evidence to support such fears.
It's a common feature of anxiety disorders but also appears in everyday worrying: I'm catastrophising about this job interview—I keep picturing myself forgetting how to speak.
Therapists often work with patients to identify and interrupt catastrophising patterns.
Troubled mental state
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- fearEmotional response to threat
- apprehensionNervous anticipation of trouble
hypervigilance · trepidation · unease · nervousness · alarm · distress · agitation · restlessness
Prolonged, repetitive thinking
- overthinkingDwelling excessively on thoughts
- overanalyzingExcessive mental dissection
- magnificationDegree of visual enlargement
- distortionTwisting from original state
fixation · brooding · dwelling · looping · hyperfocus · preoccupation · fortune-telling · mind-reading
Unavoidable grim fate
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- hopelessnessState without hope
- despairTotal absence of hope
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
bleakness · foreboding · defeatism · pessimism · dread · morbidity
worry
Troubled mental state
apprehension · hypervigilance · trepidation · unease · nervousness · alarm · distress · agitation · restlessness · tension
rumination
Prolonged, repetitive thinking
- overthinkingDwelling excessively on thoughts
- overanalyzingExcessive mental dissection
- magnificationDegree of visual enlargement
distortion · fixation · brooding · dwelling · looping · hyperfocus · preoccupation · fortune-telling · mind-reading · all-or-nothing
doom
Unavoidable grim fate
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- hopelessnessState without hope
- despairTotal absence of hope
fatalism · bleakness · foreboding · defeatism · pessimism · dread · morbidity
amplify
Increase in strength
- magnifyIncrease perceived size
- exaggerateOverstate beyond truth
- inflateFill with gas
snowball · spiral · escalate · compound · exacerbate · intensify · heighten · worsen · aggravate · balloon
catastrophisingrational thinking
Logic-based mental process
level-headedness · minimising · Pollyannaism · downplaying · underestimating
catastrophisingequanimity
Unshakable mental steadiness
composure · self-soothing · sangfroid · unflappability · acceptance
catastrophise, catastrophize, catastrophizing, catastrophized, catastrophizes, catastrophic, catastrophically, catastrophe, catastrophes