The Autonomic Nervous System

Our autonomic nervous system (ANS) is our bodies command centre which originates in our brain, and controls our movements, thoughts and automatic responses to the world around us. Our ANS also controls other body systems and processes, such as digestion and breathing, and regulates our automatic bodily functions.

The Parasympathetic Nervous System

The parasympathetic nervous system is a central part of our body's ANS and controls our body's ability to relax. You may have heard of the parasympathetic nervous system being referred to as the "rest and digest" system, due to it regulating and relaxing us after our sense of threat has passed, whether this was a real threat, like a speeding car, or an imagined threat or instance of catastrophising. In addition, our parasympathetic nervous system also helps to maintain daily functions like our resting heart rate, our metabolism, and our resting breathing rate. So all in all, our parasympathetic nervous system essentially keeps us in a relaxed state (or at least that's what we're working towards!). 

The Sympathetic Nervous System vs The Parasymptathetic Nervous System

Another branch of the parasympathetic nervous system is the sympathetic nervous system. Whilst the sympathetic nervous system is involved in stimulating areas of the body when facing stressful situations, especially during the fight-or-flight response, the parasympathetic nervous system is usually activated in times of feeling relaxed or safe, or in situations that are more mundane. Typically how this works, is that when we perceive a stressor (like a real or imagined threat), our sympathetic nervous system kicks in and we prepare to fight, freeze or flee the threat. In an ideal situation, once the danger then subsides, the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system is activated and our heart and breathing rate decrease, our digestion restarts and all our other bodily functions go back to their normal level as we switch into “rest and digest” mode as our stress response and alarm signal is deactivated. However sometimes this does not happen and we continue to remain in stress response mode even when the threat has vanished, as we are so on edge and so used to living in this hypervigilant state. This is why it can sometimes feel really hard to relax and wind down, and also why it is so important to learn ways to soothe and regulate ourselves - which I will now get in to below! 

The Vagus Nerve

Approximately 75% of all the parasympathetic nerves are vagus nerves which link to form the vagus nerve. These nerves have branches in many key organs such as the stomach, kidneys, bladder, and reproductive organs, and the vagus nerve plays the following roles:

Communication between the brain and the gut: 

The vagus nerve delivers information from the gut to the brain via the brain-gut axis.

Relaxation with deep breathing: 

The vagus nerve communicates with the diaphragm. With deep breaths, a person feels more relaxed.

Decreasing inflammation: 

The vagus nerve sends an anti-inflammatory signal to other parts of the body.

Lowering the heart rate and blood pressure: 

If the vagus nerve is overactive, it can lead to the heart being unable to pump enough blood around the body. In some cases, excessive vagus nerve activity can cause loss of consciousness and organ damage.

Fear management:

The vagus nerve sends information from the gut to the brain, which is linked to dealing with anxiety, stress, overwhelm and fear – hence the saying, “gut feeling.” These signals help a person to recover from stressful and scary situations.

Because the vagus nerve sends information to brain regions important in anxiety and stress regulation (locus coeruleus, orbitofrontal cortex, insula, hippocampus and amygdala), this pathway has been targeted in efforts to alleviate anxiety and stress symptoms. Efforts mainly focus on stimulating the vagus nerve to increase vagal tone (vagal tone is an internal biological process that represents the activity of the vagus nerve. Increasing your vagal tone activates the parasympathetic nervous system, so having higher vagal tone means that your body can relax faster after stress).

Increasing Vagal Tone / Stimulating the Vagus Nerve

1) Cold Exposure

Acute cold exposure has been shown to activate the vagus nerve. Researchers have also found that exposing yourself to cold on a regular basis can lower your sympathetic “fight or flight” response and increase parasympathetic activity through the vagus nerve. Think - taking cold showers (start at 30 seconds and increase duration), ice baths, going outside in cold temperatures with minimal clothing or by simply submerging your face in ice-cold water.

2) Deep and Slow Breathing

Deep and slow breathing is another way to stimulate your vagus nerve, and it has been shown to reduce anxiety and increase the parasympathetic system by activating the vagus nerve. Most people take about 10 to 14 breaths each minute. Taking about 6 breaths over the course of a minute is a great way to relieve stress. You should breathe in deeply from your diaphragm. When you do this, your stomach should expand outward. Your exhale should be long and slow. This is key to stimulating the vagus nerve and reaching a state of relaxation.

3) Singing, Humming, Chanting and Gargling

The vagus nerve is connected to our vocal cords and the muscles at the back of our throats. Singing, humming, chanting and gargling can activate these muscles and stimulate our vagus nerve, so these practices have been shown to increase heart-rate variability and vagal tone.

4) Probiotics

It's becoming increasingly clear to researchers that gut bacteria improve brain function by affecting the vagus nerve, so it may be time to consider starting a new probiotic.

5) Meditation

Meditation is one of my favourite relaxation techniques and it has also been found to stimulate the vagus nerve and increase vagal tone. Research shows that meditation increases vagal tone and positive emotions, and promotes feelings of goodwill towards yourself and others. Research has also found that meditation reduces sympathetic “fight or flight” activity and increases vagal modulation.

6) Exercise, spending time with loved ones, laughter, dancing, massage and taking omega-3 fatty acids have also been found to stimulate the vagus nerve and improve vagal tone.

Are you an over-thinker?

An over-achiever?

Do you constantly plan & try to control things because life feels safer this way?

Are you a swan on the surface, but frantically paddling out of view?

If any of the above resonate, you may be one of the millions of people who experience High Functioning Anxiety (like me!). If you live with High Functioning Anxiety, on the surface, you may appear to be successful, together, calm - and excelling at work and life! However, contrary to how you appear outwardly, the way you feel on the inside may be very different.

You may feel anxious or worried a lot.
You may frequently yearn for reassurance from people.
You may procrastinate a lot.
You may feel like your mind is constantly racing. 
People may feel like you're difficult to read or to get to know.
You may find it difficult to be present as you are in your head a lot of the time. 
You may constantly feel exhausted.
You may ruminate on conversations or things you've done, long after they happened. 
A lot of your actions and how you live your life may be dictated by your anxiety, whether you're aware of this or not. 

If any / all of the above sound familiar and high functioning anxiety is impacting your life, here are my recommendations:

1) Awareness is Key

My first recommendation is to get really clear on how your HFA impacts your life, and how often it shows up for you. What can be really helpful to assist with this is to keep a notepad and pen with you 24/7 and to start recording the details of your anxiety. 

e.g. When it hits. 

Why. 

How it feels. 

The intensity. 

The physiological symptoms. 

Your thoughts. 

Your behaviours (the things you do). 

Write it all down, and soon the fog will start to clear as awareness grows. Awareness that is key and that will work wonders in helping you to lower the intensity of your anxiety and how often it hits, as well as the thoughts your anxiety brings, and how you behave in relation to them.

2) What's Working for you? And What's Killing you Softly? 

Ok so here's the thing - for many of us, myself included, High Functioning Anxiety has us killing it! We're performing well. We're achieving. We're winning at life... or at least that's how it may seem to those around us. Those who don't see the frantic interior and the non- stop cortisol racing through our brains. So think about this, and think wisely. What aspects do you actually want to change? Do you actually want to lose the perfectionism? The over and above effort you put in to everything you do? Because I imagine some of it is actually serving you in a way....

My point is this. Figure out what stays and what goes. Use your journal for this. List the Pros and Cons. Explore how these things serve you. Decide what's killing you softly and then compile a hierarchy, starting from the things that cause you the least distress to the most. Choose one to start with. When making changes that are going to last start small and with something that motivation is high for.

3) It's Time to Chill. So let's Calm the Chaos!

If you want to quieten the overthinking. If you want to halt your racing thoughts. If you want to learn how to relax, because this feels like something you are never able to do, well then read on Ricardo because I promise you that nothing is going to change until you TAKE ACTION. And one of the biggest actions you can take my friend, is to introduce a practice into your life that is going to help you do all of the above by calming the chaos.

Whether it's Deep Breathing, Meditation, Mindfulness, Relaxation Exercises like Progressive Muscle Relaxation - it doesn't matter. What matters is you choose one! So test them out. Choose your favourite and commit to doing it for 5 minutes a day for 30 days. Like I said, nothing is going to change without taking action, and this is the action to take!

Recently I had one of those days where it felt like everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong, and like I was in fire fighting mode all day (sound familiar?!). My stress levels were at an all time high and I could feel my anxiety heightening. At one stage my husband handed me some chocolate and told me to eat it - I'm not sure if he thought I needed the sugar for energy after all the running around I was doing or because he wanted to shut me up! Regardless of his reasoning, I ate the chocolate 😆 I'm sharing this story with you, because it's days like these that are the perfect time to turn to grounding techniques to calm, soothe, and well, ground you!

So what exactly are grounding techniques? 

Grounding techniques are actions you can do to bring yourself into contact with the present moment and to instill calm when you need it most (think when your mind is racing, when you're feeling really heightened physiologically, or when your breath is shallow and irregular). Grounding techniques can be quick simple techniques like taking three slow deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth or using your senses to pull you back into the present moment, or longer techniques, like a body scan meditation or progressive muscle relaxation (one of my favourites). 

Different grounding techniques work for different people, and there is no right or wrong way to ground yourself. The important thing to remember, is that the main aim when practicing grounding techniques is to connect your mind and body, to help calm yourself, and most importantly, your nervous system, down, so you can lower those anxious / stressful feelings in your body and mind. 

Furthermore, as well as being helpful for situations where you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or anxious, grounding techniques can also be incredibly helpful for times  you feel impacted by distressing memories, thoughts and/or feelings.

With that said, here are three of my favourite grounding techniques.
I hope they bring peace and harmony to your life.

Deep Breathing

Sit comfortably and allow yourself to still. Close your eyes if this feels comfortable for you (this is my preferred way) or fix your gaze on something static. Now slowly take a slow deep breath in through your nose all the way from your belly - and just as slowly, release this breath through your nose or mouth in a steady stream. 

Repeat nine times (or just twice if you're short on time e.g. about to start an exam or directly before you start speaking at a presentation; this is the joy of breathing, you can do it anywhere and everywhere and no one will notice). 

Throughout, this exercise focus your mind on your breathing and feel your body relax, your mind slow, and the tension flow from your muscles.

Use Your Senses to Ground You

 If you're feeling overwhelmed, a simple way to ground and bring yourself back to the present moment is by using your senses. To begin, slowly notice, name and describe five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste. 

In this exercise, touch is particularly grounding. Feel the wooden arm of your chair in your grip, or the cool metal of your phone. Feel the smooth paper of your diary or the ceramic of your mug. Connect with your senses and allow them to draw you back to earth and to calm and soothe any distressing or uncomfortable feelings you may be experiencing.

Use Water (or Tea!) to Chill You Out

Splash some cold water on your face (the colder the better), or submerge your face in ice cold water in your sink. Notice how this feels. Stay in this moment for as long as you can. Allow it to really draw you into the present moment and to ground those racing thoughts and sensations. Next, notice how the towel feels as you dry your face and hands. Use words in your mind to describe these sensations. Give yourself a moment to take this all in, and afterwards, some time to look in the bathroom mirror and breathe. You've got this.

Sip a cool drink of water or a warm sweet cup of tea. Feel the mug in your hands. Hold it against your cheek. Take your time, all that matters is this moment.

“That's the funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.” (Germany Kent)

Practicing gratitude has been a life changing experience for me, and that is in no way an exaggeration. If you are a long-time follower, it will come as no surprise to you that I'm a huge fan of gratitude because I talk about it so bloody much! This is because gratitude is a practice that is very close to my heart and one I try to incorporate it into my daily life to reap the huge benefits it brings. However, when I teach about gratitude in my work as a Psychologist, whether as part of wellness workshops or during individual or group therapy, people often ask me “What is gratitude?” or “How do I actually practice it?” 

So let's do a deep dive!

Gratitude is the practice of expressing appreciation for what one has, which starts by noticing the goodness in one's life. According to Sirois (2018) gratitude is one of the most powerful variables that researchers could find when it came to predicting wellbeing and happiness, and what's more is that a recent study carried out by Cunha at al. (2019) found that practicing gratitude on a regular basis not only reduces anxiety, stress and depression symptoms, but also increases happiness, joy and life satisfaction. Sounds good huh? A free and simple way to boost your wellbeing, what more could you want?!

Gratitude gains momentum over time and with practice, but the benefit“s begin from the very moment you start! Try it now, close your eyes, take a deep breath and list three things you are grateful for today... can you feel that in your body?! 

Practicing gratitude has been found to positively change our brains as it boosts dopamine and serotonin, the neurotransmitters in our brains that improve our mood immediately, giving us those positive feelings of pleasure, happiness, and well-being. What's more, is that not only does it boost our feel-good neurotransmitters, it also decreases the production and release of cortisol, our stress hormone, so leaves us feeling less stressed, less anxious and less overwhelmed. Infact, as we practice gratitude, we help neural pathways in our brain to strengthen and to ultimately create a permanent grateful, positive nature within ourselves, and a lowered anxious and stressed state.

Practicing gratitude also helps us to deal better with difficult emotions like shame and guilt, improves and deepens our relationships, helps us to better regulate our emotions and nervous systems, improves sleep, increases resilience, reduces symptoms of trauma, increases our self-esteem, reduces impatience and much more! 

But let's get real for a second, some days are most definitely easier than others for cultivating gratitude, am I right? Here's the thing though, when a day comes where you can hardly summon up the energy to shift into gratitude, even when you have to force yourself to begin, practicing gratitude has a hugely magnetizing and transformative power. So on those days when you feel like absolutely nothing can shift you out of a funk, turn to gratitude and see the change it can bring. Trust me.

So how do I do it? How do I practice Gratitude?

The good news is it's simple! To start, just like above, simply pause and ask yourself “What am I grateful or thankful for today?”.
If you feel drawn to incorporating gratitude into your life, here are six simple ways to kick start your practice:

🖤 Keep a gratitude journal.

🖤 Start or end your day by thinking of three things you are grateful for (it could be your morning coffee, a good night's sleep, a smile from a loved one. Whatever comes to mind)

🖤 Take a moment each day to notice the beauty in nature.

🖤 Write a thank you note/message/email/letter/thank you card to someone in your life.

🖤 Start a gratitude jar, and every time something really beautiful happens in your life, write it down and add it to your jar. Then when days come along where you really need a reminder of all that you have to be grateful for, pull out your jar.

🖤 Ask your other half/parent/sister/children/friend their three favourite moments from the day over dinner or at bedtime.

Many research studies have found that weather can affect our mood. During our dreary winter months here in Ireland, many people describe experiencing seasonal affective disorder (SAD). I for one am definitely impacted by dull grey skies, and can feel my mood lifting instantaneously if the sun appears and I feel a little warmth on my face. If you were feeling a little ‘blue’ today, SAD is far more likely to have been a factor than it being the 3rd Monday of January! Whatever the reason for ‘Blue Monday’ I thought some simple and easy tips to boost your mood might be welcome so you can make happiness a decision AND a feeling.

Get out in nature

A 2012 study, where researchers gave more than 10,000 people questionnaires about their mental health over nearly two decades, found that people who lived in urban areas with the most green space (such as parks) reported feeling the least mental distress and the highest wellbeing. But you don't need to live near a park to get all its benefits — research now suggests that even a 90-minute walk in nature can chase away negative thoughts.

Listen to uplifting music

A 2013 study found that people who listened to positive music while attempting to improve their mood reported feeling happier afterwards.

Awe-some

A 2015 study found that experiencing a sense of awe — the feeling you get looking up into the night sky, for example — can leave you feeling less stressed and more satisfied.

Laugh a little

Sometimes laughter really is the best medicine. A 2018 study found that laughter boosts mood and improves wellbeing.

Exercise your way to happiness

A 2018 study found that exercise relieves stress, improves memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts overall mood.

Gratitude

A 2019 study found that practicing gratitude on a regular basis reduces symptoms of depression, and increases positive emotion, happiness and life satisfaction.

I don't know about you, but my life constantly feels busy as hell! Often I feel like I am chasing my tail or putting out fires left, right and centre, and so, it can feel like I've run around like a headless chicken all day without even having time to breathe! 

If you can relate, two things that are really important for me and my stress levels are: 

1) A daily self care habit that allows me to ground myself and calm down my heightened nervous system

My current daily habit is meditating directly before I fall asleep at night, in bed with the lights off. I made a promise to myself to do this every single night in September and so far I've kept that promise. What's helped is that I also set myself a reward of buying myself a gift card for Brown Thomas if I achieved my goal!! 

In all seriousness though, I am reaping the rewards, as I am feeling so calm as I fall asleep every night, sleep comes quicker to me, and it also feels like my sleep is far more restful.

Other self care habits that come to mind are journaling, practicing relaxation (e.g. PMR) or deep breathing exercises, a walk in nature, or some form of gentle movement like yoga.

2) Taking a look at all of the balls I am juggling and asking myself if there is even one ball I can put down for now, or at least pass to someone else for awhile

When it comes to stress management, the 4D's are spoken about a lot, and are a really good strategy to use when it comes to lowering stress and overwhelm. The 4 D's in question are:
To Do

To Delay

To Delegate

To Delete

This strategy is a brilliant one when it comes to stress and overwhelm, and it's about sitting down, putting pen to paper, and writing down all of the To Do's that are in your head until everything is out on paper and no longer spiraling around your head. Once this is done (and hopefully you'll feel lighter from this step alone), it's about considering which of these To Do's are important and need to stay on your list (these fall within the To Do category above). Next, consider which To Do's you can schedule into next week's, or next month's, or even dare I say, next year's diary! These are your To Delays. Then move on to searching through your list and picking out the To Do's that you can delegate, whether to your other half, a colleague, or a VA. Finally consider if there are any To Do's (or worries or fears) that you can delete off your list altogether (e.g. an unnecessary meeting), or, similarly use this as a prompt to start saying ‘No’ more when people make requests of you.

Cut Out or Cut Down on Stressors

Another strategy that can be incredibly helpful, is having a look at the causes of stress in your life and considering if there is something that you can ‘cut out or cut down’.

For example:

• One less coffee a day, or change one cup to decaf

• Say 'No' for a change instead of always saying 'Yes'

• Put your phone away an hour before bedtime or stop bringing it into your room at night 

• Limit the energy you give to the people in your life who drain you

• Stop doing some of the things you feel you 'Should'.
  

• Limit your news or social media consumption.
  

• Leave your phone off until you've taken 20 minutes to yourself in the morning.
  

• Stop doing to the event that you don't enjoy or leave early.

Can you think of anything that needs to be cut out or cut down?

Other Stress Reducing Strategies are:

❤ Exercising

❤ Practicing gratitude 

❤ Prioritising sleep and rest

❤ Eating a balanced diet

❤ Going easy on yourself and accepting that you can’t do things perfectly no matter how hard you try

❤ Spending time with family and friends & talking to them about how you’re feeling

❤ Setting aside time for hobbies you enjoy, such as reading a book or listening to music

❤ Keeping a stress journal (think of it as doing a brain dump)

❤ Seeking professional help when stress is impacting your life

“I can't relax. It's like my brain won't shut off”

Overthinking or ‘Analysis Paralysis’ is repetitive, prolonged, and recurrent thought about one's self, one's concerns and one's experiences (Harvey, Watkins & Mansell, 2004).

Sound familiar? If so, I have bad news, as, as well as being distressing, mentally exhausting and extremely draining, the process of overthinking is also unproductive due to it typically presenting as constant thought loops that don’t seem to have a resolution. What's more, is that overthinking can keep people dwelling on and amplifying the upsetting aspects of a situation and their perceived character flaws, or things they are fearing about the future for an extremely long period of time. For this reason, overthinking is like running into a dead-end again and again, a dead-end that stops us from problem-solving and learning important lessons in our lives, and that keeps us stuck and paralysed.

To understand overthinking further, it is important to note that our brains, and our thoughts and beliefs, are wired (for evolutionary and self-protective reasons) to detect and attend to negative experiences more than positive ones. This means that we tend to remember negative events, such as going to the dentist for a painful procedure, over happier moments, such as the joy of playing with our child. This can lead to us downplaying or altogether dismissing our accomplishments (and for example the compliments and positive things our partner says to us), and instead can magnify the mistakes we’ve made (or the negative interactions we have with our other half!). The above is really important to note, as because of all of this, we are actually quite susceptible to overthinking.

So how do I know if I'm an Overthinker?

The differentiation of “over” thinking (repetitive, prolonged, and recurrent thought about one's self, one's concerns and one's experiences that is unproductive and presents as constant thought loops that don’t seem to have a resolution) rather than just thinking in general, highlights that our thinking is not getting us anywhere and so is not helpful to us. So if you notice that you are stuck thinking about the same thing over and over again but are not coming to any sort of “solution,” you are very likely overthinking.

Another way you will know if you are overthinking, is by your body telling you. For example, you might feel overwhelmed, under pressure or apprehensive, or you might feel your heart beginning to race or your stomach starting to feel sick.

Exercise

Before you read on, take a moment to consider how your body reacts to your overthinking (grab a pen and paper or your journal and jot down some notes, or draw a sketch of your body and mark the places your body becomes activated when overthinking strikes).

Exercise

How many of these ‘signs you're an overthinker’ you can relate to? (Score yourself out of 10)

You can’t stop worrying.

You constantly remind yourself of mistakes.

You often ask your self "what if..." questions.

You often worry about things you have no control over.

You spend a lot of free time thinking about the hidden meaning behind things people say or events that occur.

When you recall conversations with people, you can’t help but think about all the things you wish you had or hadn't said.

You relive embarrassing moments in your mind over and over.

You spend so much time either dwelling on past events or worrying about the future that you often miss what’s going on in the present.

You have difficulty sleeping because it feels like your brain won't shut off.

When someone says something or acts in a way you don't like, you dwell on it.

Intrusive Thoughts

Intrusive Thoughts are disturbing thoughts that pop into your mind without invite or warning, that are usually very different from your typical thoughts, for example, the thought might be uncharacteristically violent. The thought will usually feel bothersome and hard to control or rid your mind of, and intrusive thoughts are often repetitive in nature (hello overthinking). As mentioned above, intrusive thoughts can be violent, or sexual, in nature, and can focus on behaviours you find unacceptable and abhorrent. They can also seemingly appear out of nowhere and cause huge anxiety.

It is really important to note that intrusive thoughts have no meaning in your life and are not warning messages or red flags. Intrusive thoughts are simply thoughts. What gives them power is that those who experience them can become worried about their significance and can fixate on them and become ashamed, intent on keeping them secret from others. As long as you can recognise that these are thoughts, and thoughts only, and that just because you think them doesn’t mean you have any desire to act on them, intrusive thoughts are not harmful.

Something else that may bring you comfort is that up to 94% of people experience intrusive thoughts, so if are part of this percentage, you are most definitely not alone.

If you would like to learn more about overthinking and intrusive thoughts, for example:

1) types of overthinking, such as rumination, worry, self-analysis, planning and reassurance.

2) why we overthink

3) the impact overthinking has on us

4) overthinking triggers and predictors

5) unhelpful thinking styles and patterns that can maintain overthinking

6) strategies to break the loop and lower overthinking and intrusive thought

Please email me for more information about my pre-recorded Overthinking workshop.

When a person experiences a challenging emotion, it can often be preceded by unhelpful thoughts (that lead to the challenging emotion). Typically when this happens, there is a pattern to these thoughts which we call "unhelpful thinking styles". Unhelpful thinking styles or patterns are usually very familiar to us as they are an automatic habit (i.e. something that happens automatically, outside the realm of our awareness). When a person consistently experiences these thinking styles or patterns, they can cause themselves a great deal of emotional distress and it can have a huge impact on their lives. One of these unhelpful thinking styles or patterns is “catastrophising”.

So what is Catastrophising?

At the root of most anxiety struggles is what-if thinking. While 90% of our negative thoughts never come to fruition, this fact doesn’t stop us from thinking the worst. Negative what-if thinking can cause us to live in a constant state of crisis where we live our life from one catastrophe to the next and rarely stop to wonder if it is in fact our thinking that is the problem.

Linked to this idea of negative what-if thinking is catastrophising, a process that involves thinking or expecting that the worst will happen. If in the past you've found yourself unable to stop thinking about the worst possible outcome, no matter how improbable, you’ve probably been catastrophising!). Likewise, if anyone has ever said to you “you’re blowing things out of proportion”, or “you’re making a mountain out of a molehill”, catastrophising is likely a familiar experience for you.

Catastrophising is similar to a snowball moving down a snowy mountain. It starts out with a small thought, which escalates into a larger thought, which then induces a state of panic. For example, you may worry about a (perceived) negative comment your boss said at work to you. Then, you start to think you may get fired. Next, you start worrying about how you are going to find a job in this type of economy. You suddenly imagine that you will be broke and homeless with nowhere to go. Before you know it, you are having a panic attack, your heart is pounding and you can’t breathe. All of this stemmed from one thought about one comment that your boss probably doesn’t even remember making!

If the above sounds familiar and you are indeed a catastrophiser, you likely worry about a disastrous outcome with little reason or facts, for example if someone doesn't answer their phone you may fear that they've been in a serious car accident or they no longer want to be a part of your life. If you can indeed relate to any of the above, you won't be surprised to hear that catastrophising can be extremely distressing to experience and that it can lead to stress, anxiety and overwhelm (amongst other things), and that it is one of the topics I am most asked about in the therapy room.

Fortunately, for the most part, our worst-case scenarios never come true, but even if they did, we typically underestimate our ability to handle the situations and assume the worst of ourselves, not believing we are capable of managing adversity. This most certainly adds to the distress that catastrophising causes.

So what causes Catastrophising?

Experts still don’t know the exact cause of catastrophising, however some possible causes include:

🖤 differences in brain chemistry or changes in processes

🖤 inheriting it as a learned behaviour from family members or people close to you

🖤 a response to experiencing traumatic events

In addition, a 2017 study showed that catastrophic thinking is often linked to a deeply held core belief, and that focusing on negative thoughts, like the process of catastrophising, puts stress on our body that can manifest as physical symptoms and conditions. Catastrophising has also been linked to depression, anxiety, chronic pain and fatigue.

Experts also believe that at the root of catastrophic thinking are fear and low self-esteem, where, as mentioned above, we believe we are incapable of handling problems and imagine ourselves as helpless. Those of us who struggle with catastrophic thinking most likely also dealt with a childhood trauma or one that occurred later in life, where we saw a worst-case scenario actually come true. Because of this trauma, it can feel like danger exists around every corner, which can make life feel frightening and dangerous, and which can lead to an impending sense of doom. A diagnosis of a life-threatening illness, a sudden job loss, or any type of change can also cause what-if-thinking and catastrophising.

Many of us at one time or another have been prone to catastrophising, however it becomes a problem when it interferes with our everyday life and becomes our normal thought process.

So how do I stop Catastrophising?

The good news is that you can take steps to prevent catastrophising from spiraling out of control. Some of these steps include:

🖤 Attending therapy

🖤 Practicing mindfulness or meditation

🖤 Challenging your thoughts and fears

🖤 Working on accepting uncertainty

🖤 Creating problem-solving strategies for the what-if scenarios

🖤 Journaling when you are experiencing these thoughts can assist you in recognising and growing awareness of your unhelpful thinking styles and patterns

🖤 Scheduling worry time to review / think about your fears for a contained period of time

🖤 Practicing positive self-talk and mantras to remind yourself that you can handle whatever comes your way