Making mountains out of mole hills: catastrophizing stifles change

Emotional 𖤓

Carl Sagan told a story about early astronomers looking at a cloud covered planet Venus. They concluded it must be a tropical rain forest atmosphere much like when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Sagan mused, "Observation, we can't see a thing. Conclusion, dinosaurs." It is always helpful to get more data.


Her cheeks were tear-stained, her breathing noticeably frantic, and her voice at that pitch only a woman in crisis can produce. She was rambling about what a horrible pet owner she had been because the cat she tried to foster had escaped his new home and was lost. She lamented how her lack of consideration had put him in jeopardy, and in the same sentence how her failings were likely to reoccur as disaster as she embarked on a move to Southern California. "Whoa, that's a pretty big leap," I suggested. In her moment of fear she had resorted to "catastrophizing."

Essentially catastrophizing is when we make assumptions about what's going on based on very limited or circumstantial evidence (usually a crisis or emotionally upsetting event), we assume a more dire conclusion than we have evidence for, and then we react emotionally at a level proportionate to that dire conclusion we made up. Who among us hasn't written the future using a pencil invested in past disasters?

There are two kinds of catastrophizing, one focused on situation ("This project was a disaster. I am a failure and my boss hates me."), and one focused on the future ("I failed my cat and I will fail myself when I move to California.") Neither are very helpful when you are trying to change because both can be paralyzing. Both limit your choices in life, work, relationships and more, both affect your outlook and can create a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure and disappointment.
Change and transition requires grounded thinking and thoughtful decisions. It's hard work that can be derailed by making mountains out of mole hills.