Catastrophising means thinking the worst will happen, and it often entails imagining worst case scenarios which tend to be worse than the underlying situation. In psychology, catastrophising is a cognitive distortion associated with anxiety and clinically concerning depression and stress disorders. It entails the overthinking of untold worst case scenarios as well as the complete underestimation of one’s coping strategies and skills. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) focuses on training patients to confront and restructure these distorted catastrophic realities. For example, a student who believes that a single unsuccessful exam will directly result in them failing the whole semester is catastrophising reality.
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