06/06/2026
If you suffer from bad anxiety, please read on - there's real help in this article.
Catastrophe is something we associate with terrible events in our lives, events that cause tremendous damage, suffering, loss, failure and more. But did you know: “catastrophising” is the mind’s ability to create disaster of equal magnitude, but only existing in the mind. And yet, it can feel as real as a ‘real’ catastrophe.
About a month ago I created a post about ‘trying to stay in the present’ while undergoing huge anxiety like catastrophising and why the advice doesn’t work. (It's often given to people who suffer from anxiety - and catastrophising is a very common form of anxiety which really does not WANT the mind to stay in the present!) It’s a ‘focus-sucker’ deluxe… and once it becomes habit, it’s so easy for the mind to lapse into it as a coping mechanism when life feels uncertain, you don’t feel capable, or the future is unknown.
So, in this short article, I want to unpack this debilitating form of anxiety a little more, and give a tip or two on what it takes to help it abate. It's also a very common Bipolar symptom, but so many people who suffer from general anxiety suffer from this too.
And here’s the story: ironically, about two weeks after my last post on anxiety, I was party to a bipolar client of mine create, in her mind, complete incapacitating worry and overwhelm - about her children loving their other parent more than her (none of which has ever played out in reality). And an older family member of mine cancelling an important overseas trip because her natural bodily frailty became an out-of-control fear, which became a definite surgery, dental emergency, and all-round coping disaster in another country in her mind - which freaked her out and dogged her every waking moment. Needless to say, she became ill.
So, what happens when you catastrophise? This may sound really familiar to some folk, because it’s quite common (and familiar to me too – I really had to work on this one as a habitual pattern in my own psyche). Funnily enough, the roots of the created ‘disaster’ are often present in life, but the mind takes them, plays them and amplifies them into a negative saga which then feels very real.
In my experience it covers two distinct aspects: firstly, the mind’s ability to fixate on “what if”, regarding implicit uncertainty or fear – and then conjecture wildly and negatively about the worst-case scenario(s) that could occur, creating and fixating on, catastrophe. It/they can then become so real that, secondly, you can spend hours or days creating solutions to the catastrophe, forgetting that it's only in the mind. ‘Leaving the building’ while doing it, totally lost in the ‘reality’ of what’s happening (which is actually fantasy), leaving the present entirely. This is called dissociating. For example, you could be anywhere, at home, at work, in a meeting, chatting to people - but a million miles away, ‘living’ your disaster.
Sound familiar? It can be SO stressful! But the created impending disaster can feel so real.
The trigger: often being under more stress than normal, being challenged, feeling a lot of fear or not being able to perceive an outcome to a problem or unexpected event. Not being able to see ahead into the future is also a very common trigger. In an anxious makeup, the mind is often first prone to negatively fixating, rather than getting to the heart of challenges - or solving them. Not the created disasters - the actual issues!
So how do we solve this pervasive mental pattern? There are many methods -let me give you one I find really helpful: learn to catch your mind just as it starts the familiar negative fantasy creation and talk yourself down to stop it. Literally intercept it and put the brakes on.
Let me give you a scenario example: you think you’ve messed up with somebody. Your mind gives you that doom-filled feeling and before you know it you’re writing (and in) a story in which this person has told everyone that you’re the worst person, you’re nothing; everyone’s going to ignore or reject you the next time you’re all together; life’s hopeless – and now you’re overwhelmed, anxious and depressed. All the time. Yes? NO!
Catch the STORY as it begins and pull yourself back to REALITY. The real issue is you possibly messed up with a person and you’re worried about that and don't know what to do. That’s the real issue. No more. Catching yourself takes practice, but it’s very doable. The more you do it, the better the mind responds, and you then become so self-aware, you start stopping it before it starts. Words like “no, I’m not going to create the worst-case scenario here”, repeated often, act as a brain retrain. And that's what you're aiming to do - help your mind not leap to it's favourite 'go-to' when you're under stress.
The secret also, is to always replace what you’ve removed to give the mind equilibrium - so if you’ve removed a negative fantasy, create something in its place. My honest advice is finding the solution to the reality issue that you're struggling with. "I'm going to sort this out". Not run from it and end up in the disaster quotient...
In the above scenario I personally would phone the person up, and chat about whether I'd offended them etc. I'd be prepared to apologise if I’ve messed up, but I'll never know until I confront the issue. It can be this simple! Preventing hours of self-created stress building up to anxiety and overwhelm. Which can last for days.
This is but one method to help the catastrophising pattern, but it works. It's helped many. And folks, sometimes the self-empowerment route (which this is) for any mental health issue is so simple we often miss it. And sometimes using a simple tool, beats taking a pill, or more pills if you’re already on them. Manage your mental health. Self-empower by becoming self-aware and taking action!
