A common habit in thinking is over-reacting to negative events in our life. This is when our mind takes something that is uncomfortable or unpleasant for us and reacts to it as if it were horrible. For example, let’s say I’m running late to a meeting and I get really upset, and I find myself thinking “Oh my god, I’m going to get fired!” In most cases, the thought that I’ll get fired is a negative exaggeration and rarely happens. This is an indication that I am catastrophizing the situation.
One way you can help yourself change this thinking bad-habit is to create a “catastrophe scale” to help you get things back in perspective. Using a sheet of paper turned sideways, put 0% in the left top corner, 50% in the top middle, and 100% in the right top corner. 0% represents “nothing is wrong” and 100% represents the “worst possible thing happening” (a full catastrophe).
Now, at various percentage points, write in something you think fits at that level of “badness.” For example, you might have “Relaxing with my partner on vacation” at 0% and “Being a prisoner of war” at 100%. For 100%, really find the worst possible thing for you. Then you might see what fits in the middle, such as “Having my car stolen” at 40%, “Being mugged” at 50%, and “Being fired” at 70%.
When you are upset, you can now compare what is happening right now to the items on the chart. Often, you’ll see that you have been exaggerating the importance of the current event and making it worse than it really is. For example, you might have become really upset when you were cut off by another driver on the freeway, but when you put it on the chart, “Being cut off on the freeway” only rates a 5% or 10% on your chart. You might realize, it’s only a moment in time, and really it has no big impact on your life.
The newfound perspective may help you let go and feel better!
