worst-case thinking
Anticipating the direst
Worst-case thinking is the habit of imagining or planning for the most unfavorable possible outcome.
It can be prudent preparation—Worst-case thinking led them to pack emergency supplies—or anxious rumination that amplifies unlikely disasters.
The phrase often appears in discussions of risk management, security planning, and anxiety disorders.
- catastrophizingImagining worst-case outcomes
- doomsdayProphesied world's end
- doom and gloomPersistent negative outlook
- pessimismExpecting unfavorable outcomes
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
paranoia · Murphy's Law · contingency · risk assessment · disaster · scenario · disaster planning · planning · fear · apocalyptic · defensive · survivalist · bunker · nuclear winter · prepper · risk · fallout · meltdown
- Anxietyanxiety, nervousness, panic, worry, generalized anxiety
- thought trapscatastrophizing, overgeneralization, mind reading, fortune telling, personalization
- despairdespair, hopelessness, desolation, despondency, dejection
- safety mindsetcaution, vigilance, awareness, prevention, preparedness
worst-case thinkingoptimism
Tendency to expect good
sunny outlook · wishful thinking · positive thinking · blue-sky thinking · Pollyannaism
worst-case thinkingtrust
Confidence in another
hope · abundance mindset · growth mindset · equanimity · faith
worst, think, thinking, thinker, thinkers, thinks, unthinkable, rethink, rethinking