How to stop catastrophic thinking in 4 easy steps

Do you deal with catastrophic thinking? Does your brain assault you with a bunch of what if questions? If so, this is the video for you. Today we're going to learn about how to stop catastrophic thinking in four easy steps. If you struggle with anxiety, then definitely check out the other resources on this page. I'm Dr. Nicole Cain, and I am so happy to share with you a ton of free information on how to get your life back from anxiety. So today we're going to start by talking about catastrophic thinking and what if thinking so that you can know what to do about it in four easy steps, starting right now. The first thing is to know what catastrophic thinking is. And catastrophic thinking is something that you were biologically wired to do. The brain, in an effort to promote your survival, is incredibly adept at looking for danger and anticipating danger. But the problem is if that brain starts to turn that danger searching dial way up and it starts to worry or think or obsess about things either too intensely, too, too repetitively, or that are too extreme and unlikely to happen given the actual reality of the situation. And so today, let's talk about what you can do about it. So the first thing is to know that your anxiety is trying to protect you, and we can actually use that protective mechanism to your benefit. So the first step is, if your brain is engaging in catastrophic thinking, we want to select a time to actually honor that catastrophic thinking. And I use the term select a time because you have to live your life. You have to go through your day and follow your responsibilities and be free to think about other things besides what ifs, right? So the important thing is to designate time every single day to engage in catastrophic thinking. And then you want to use that time to, to create strategies and to use your other tools. So let's say that I'm having catastrophic thinking about what's going to happen when I get on an airplane, right? So my brain is anxious about it. And so if I have an anxious thought, the first step is, is I honor you thought. And we're going to think about this more at this time. And then you schedule time to actually actively think about that. And then when the time arrives, I want you to write down every catastrophic thought that you can think of. Every worry, every thought, every fear. Then I want you to acknowledge it. So you're going to notice it, acknowledge it, notice that this part of your brain is telling you that this could happen. And then I want you to use it to create solutions. So if this happens, I'm going to do this. If that happens, I'M going to do that. Sometimes we worry about things that are out of our control. And so if you don't have solutions, try to solicit advice from somebody who might be able to help you with creative solutions or, or if it is actually something that's out of your control, this is where we go to the second step. So the first step is to know that you're biologically wired to have catastrophic what if thinking and that it's your body and your anxiety doing this to try to protect you. The second thing I want you to know is that you can use that catastrophic thinking to create strategies that will actually protect you as opposed to you just getting caught unprepared. Right? And so I want you to make a list, I want you to analyze, I want you to think about all of the things that could be, that could happen. And I want you to hold that reality in one hand. So right hand, so think about all of those things that you wrote down. Acknowledge the possibility of catastrophe, acknowledge the possibility of worst case scenario. You have it written down. And then I want you to notice in the left hand other possible alternatives. So these alternatives could theoretically be positive, they could theoretically be neutral. And what I want you to do is to think about another way that this thing could go out the other way, that this could play out the other way that this could happen the other just other alternatives. And I want you to hold that reality in your left hand. Because what we want to do is we want to approach this from as truthful and honest and logical of a position as possible. So holding onto the catastrophe, using the catastrophe to come up with strategies so that you can protect yourself, which is what catastrophizing is trying to do, and then to also acknowledge that there may be other outcomes that are possible and hold that truth in your left hand. So this is the difference between a waffle brain and a spaghetti brain, right? Spaghetti brains are when the thoughts are there all the time. I'm just worrying, I'm thinking, the anxiety is controlling me. It's like wearing a giant hot coat in the desert in the summer. Instead you can choose in the desert in the summer to go into a nice air conditioned room under your control and choose to put that coat on when you want and then to use that to your benefit to strategize. So we want to also think about how we can hold the opposites, how we can think about the waffle brain partition our time. And then I have also written down the acceptance, acknowledging and letting go. So once you've done this exercise, and then I want you to let it go. And so this is where we get into redirection strategies. And so this may mean that you mindfully leave the room, that you turn the page and distract yourself with something else, that you turn the page over and choose something else to think about, or that you activate the 4S model, which are your four senses that you can trigger, like sight, smell, scenery and sipping, which we've talked about in some of our previous videos, so that you put an end type on that. And then I have a strategy that I want to share with you really briefly. It's called the power model for writing your new story. And this stands for proof, opposite action. Write your new story, emotional Newel, and repeat. So proof is when you have a catastrophic thought. I want you to write down the catastrophic thought. And then I want you to search for proof that this is what's going to happen. I want you to look for the evidence, I want you to look for evidence supporting it, and I want you to look for evidence that is against what your catastrophic thoughts are telling you is true. And then opposite action, I want you to think about what doesn't fit, what isn't logical, and what is a new opportunity. That's the left hand, right? And then I want you to write your new story. I want you to create a new way of thinking about this that will create the feeling that feels honest and true and good to you. So here's an example. Examples really help. I'm feeling anxious that the plane is going to crash tomorrow. What is the proof of that? Well, planes have crashed. What is the proof against it? Well, statistically, the plane is not going to crash because it's such a small number. I'm more likely to win the lottery, which I haven't won yet. Right? And so write down the statistics, write down the odds, write down the proof, write down the opposite action. So the opposite action could be like, the plane could fly and it could be pleasant, and then it could land in my destination. And then write down my new story. In my example, I'm going to choose to get on the plane. I'm going to choose to accept the fact that the statistics say that it's very likely that it's going to land nice and safely. I'm going to choose to be calm in that moment. And then the next step is an emotional renewal. And so this is where you've deconstructed why you're feeling, why you feel that way. You've identified your facts, you created a new narrative and now we want to focus on how we can create that with problem solving. And so that may be writing a mantra, creating a panic pack that you can bring on the plane. So this is how you can renew that experience with actual tangibles. And then the last thing is repeat, where you just practice and repeat. So the four steps that I'm talking to you today about our catastrophic thinking or what if thinking, we talked about how it's biological and how we can actually use that tendency and that trait to benefit us. So one is the power method we just talked about. Number two is using the Eggo Waffle brain. So you're choosing time to go in and deal with it. Number three is holding on to the opposites. And then number four is to reframe your thinking and using the anxiety. So this has been. Dr. Nicole, we've been talking about anxiety today. I'm here every single week. There's tons of free content and I want to make sure that you know about our anxiety Free Anxiety Freedom Wellness Springboard. If you're dealing with really extreme anxiety and if you're having catastrophic thinking, do the work. But if you need results and something to calm that anxiety right down right away, then check out the Wellness Springboard. This has a ton of information that you can start using immediately. I also have a couple of bundles in there that work really well. Like my go to when I'm really anxious and I'm just like freaking out and I need something to stop it. In his tracks is calm on command. And so that's one of the bundles that I'll tell you about on the Springboard. The Springboard is totally free and we'll make sure to give you the link in the comment notes. And so otherwise, I will see you next time. Let me know if there's topics that are interesting to you and we'll make sure to add them to our list. We'll talk to you later. Take care.