Realities For People Living With Anxiety Disorder

Often Catastrophize

Individuals with anxiety disorders often catastrophize. Catastrophizing is exactly what it sounds like: worrying about catastrophes that can happen. It's common for patients with anxiety disorders to fixate on the worst possible thing that could happen, or to come up with multiple worst-case scenarios. While it's natural to consider the potential consequences of one's actions, individuals with anxiety disorders have two marked differences from the average neurotypical person. First, they tend to have overwhelmingly negative and fearful views of situations. It's extremely difficult for them to see potential positive outcomes as easily as negative ones. Second, the catastrophes they come up with mentally may not be likely or even possible. Patients with anxiety disorders fixate on potentially negative scenarios and experience the same worry and fear as if the scenario had actually happened.

Consider another significant reality of living with anxiety now.