How to stop catastrophizing

Catastrophizing is a type of cognitive distortion. It's a faulty and inaccurate way of thinking that involves imagining the worst possible outcome in a given situation.

Catastrophizing can hold people back in life, work, and relationships and we all do it in some way, and some of us do it a lot more than others.

Understanding the natural psychological processes behind catastrophizing can help us build awareness and learn to create a more balanced and productive view of our futures.

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• Sam's newsletter on creativity - Explosive Thinking 
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• Twitter - @samjamharris
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Chapters

00:00 What is catastrophising

03:00 Build awareness

05:52 Magnifying and minimising

07:15 The problem with imagined details

08:58 The human tendency to invent stories

12:01 Catastrophizing and being diagnosed with ADHD

14:56 Balancing worst and best scenarios

16:02 Social anxiety

17:48 Write a journal

19:10 Alex Hormozi selling gym subscriptions

19:48 Want and don't want chair

22:08 4 step method for mitigating catastrophization

22:13 Step 1 - Awareness 

23:20 Step 2 - Challenging the thought

24:03 Step 3 - Imagine the best

24:34 Step 4 - Accept uncertainty

26:19 Catastrophizing is the opposite of Growth mindset

26:40 Therapy & CBT

29:20 Episode Summary

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