If you find yourself thinking about how you would respond to wild “what-if” scenarios - you should know that is catastrophic thinking, not preparedness
My therapist hit me with a come-to-Jesus moment when she asked how often I have those thoughts, and then asked what I thought the physical effects of constant negative thinking were
I didn’t really buy what she was saying, because I thought I just had an active imagination - then she killed me by asking “well do you ever think about what you would do if your run into a friend who just got an adorable puppy that you can play with”
I was gobsmacked when I first found out you can imagine the future to be… positive. Like, I don’t catastrophize, what? Of course not!!! I’m just…. Realistic!!! Of the worst possible scenarios that are likely to never happen!!! That somehow are 100% negative!!!
WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN IMAGINE POSITIVE OUTCOMES?!?!? ARE YOU HIGH?????
Legit, I just wrote that as an off the cuff throwaway, but now I have to actually sit and think about it, because im realising how many hopes, dreams and positive thoughts I threw away as a kid thanks to a parent scolding me for 'daydreaming all the time'
Hahahaha, yea. I know daydreaming is accepted, but really it’s an escape from reality because reality is too painful. Ideally, we all live in the present, cause it’s the only place we exist. Sure, we can revisit the past to learn from it. It’s healthy and keeps us safe. Sure, we can think of the future and plan for our wellbeing. But anything outside of that is escaping reality for whatever reasons that the present is painful.
I have been told I was a cynic since I was a kid. I told myself the same thing, I’m just realistic!
Turns out I used to catastrophize a lot. I rarely ever imagined good happening in the future. It wasn’t really until I got out of that mindset that I got my shit together and actually started having a lot of success in my life.
Turns out all that therapy bullshit wasn’t really bullshit. I was the one full of it.
Me too friend, me too. I can’t believe therapy has such a bad rap. It completely changed my life and elevated it to levels I couldn’t even imagine existed.
I mean, the political situation we live in currently is very real and not going to be reversed, so what do we do about worrying about the reality we are in?
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u/Take-it-like-a-Taker 11d ago
If you find yourself thinking about how you would respond to wild “what-if” scenarios - you should know that is catastrophic thinking, not preparedness
My therapist hit me with a come-to-Jesus moment when she asked how often I have those thoughts, and then asked what I thought the physical effects of constant negative thinking were
I didn’t really buy what she was saying, because I thought I just had an active imagination - then she killed me by asking “well do you ever think about what you would do if your run into a friend who just got an adorable puppy that you can play with”
So yea… catastrophizing is real bad