When you blow a minor disappointment out of proportion and let it ruin your day, this is called catastrophizing. It is related to anger and leads to many negative results, such as greater feelings of anger, poorly expressing that anger, and becoming anxious and depressed. Instead of catastrophizing, stop and use logic to assess the event. Replace the catastrophe with a realistic assessment. Allow yourself to feel the disappointment without making it too large or too small. Be kind to yourself as you practice this new skill.
Key Takeaways:
- Sometimes when we are disappointed by something and particularly when that thing is a minor one, we determine that the day is definitely ruined.
- Most people who believe that little things can spoil and make their days unfortunate can be characterized as having being catastrophizing.
- The author has written several pieces in the past on the reasons why people get mad and he believes that our appraisal of the event determines our reaction.
“It is correlated with a tendency to get angry, to express that anger in maladaptive ways, to have thoughts of revenge, to get into fights, to damage property, and quite a few other anger related problems”
Read more: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/all-the-rage/201907/what-is-catastrophizing
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