How can I stop catastrophising?

According to the latest study carried out by the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, two-thirds of people surveyed reported feeling stressed “often” or “sometimes” -a marginally higher figure than the 65pc recorded at the height of the pandemic, in an April 2020 study.

People reported experiencing a higher level of stress than they are used to, and they are getting less confident rather than more confident in the workplace, and less comfortable socially rather than more comfortable.

But its not all bad news….
So here’s the good news!
It is not the situation, demand or challenge in front of us that triggers a stress reaction but it’s how we PERCEIVE that situation, demand or challenge that will drive our response or reaction.

Good news???
Absolutely!
Frequently, there is very little we can do to control or change a certain situation, but we can always choose to change how we perceive it. In other words, do we tend to catastrophise or or do we see beyond the challenge presented and look for the opportunity in the challenge.

Here’s a simple example!
Say your boss sends an email asking for a meeting the following morning. How do you perceive this email?

1. You could perceive it as an opportunity to receive praise for your hard work or to discuss a promotion or new job responsibilities. You might feel excited or curious about what your boss has to say.
2.  You could perceive it as a routine meeting to discuss work-related topics or to provide an update on a project you're working on. You might feel indifferent or unemotional about the meeting.
3. You could perceive it as a criticism of your job performance, the beginning of the end, triggering a strong fight or flight reaction, driving emotions such as fear and anxiety.

Which of the three reactions above is your default?
If it is a version of number 3, you are veering towards being a catastrophiser.

Now ask yourself - What would it take to change that perception?

My top tip to reducing this catastrophising, is to start noticing your default perception. Notice what triggers the biggest reactions in you. Raise your level of self awareness around your reactions. As you notice your reaction, and ask yourself if you could possibly change your perception (even marginally). A metaphor I like to use is to change the colour of the lens you are viewing the situation through. Pick your favourite colour and imagine viewing the situation through this new lens. Now what do your see?

Practice this new habit and over time what you will start to notice is, that the automatic default to catastrophising will deminish and guess what, you will gain valuable energy in the process.

Why not give it a go.

Want to explore how a coaching programme could help you reduce the stress in your life, check out my Coaching for Stress and Overwhelm' Programme to help move you from chaos to calm and stress to strength.