Stress Reduction Tip - Stop Catastrophising

You're on your way to work and you're late.  You know you can just get there and not have your lateness noticed as long as there are no delays in the journey.

Unfortunately 'everybody and his dog' have picked this particular journey to create as many delays for you as they possibly can.  Waagh!  You imagine your new boss, who you've never met before but who is starting this morning, as one of those 'hot off the mark' types who wants to make an impression with the staff - you know that new bosses want everyone to know they're no 'soft touch'.

You imagine and feel the shame as new boss reprimands you in front of your colleagues while you repeatedly but pointlessly keep telling new boss it's the first time in six months you've been late and you didn't mean to 'test them' but new boss is not having it.  Now you're furious at all the stupid bossy bosses in the world and their need for power and how they get it by humiliating people like you who have worked hard all their lives and look how easily they got their big salary while you ... .

So you get to work and as you get through the door someone comes up to you and with a smile extends their hand for a handshake and says 'Hi I'm Kevin/Dominique and I'm the new manager' and you reply 'you can shove your job!  I hate you!'.

This mental process is called 'catastrophisation', more commonly known as 'making mountains out of molehills'.

The most important word here is 'imagined'.  If you imagined it, it isn't real.  When you find yourself doing this just remind yourself of this fact and you will greatly reduce your stress levels and also stop relationship difficulties developing that should never have developed.

Realise you do it and learn to habitually ask 'did that happen in reality or did it happen just in my head?'.

If it happened just in your head, work on it just in your head.  It isn't reality until external reality shows you it is.  Train yourself to watch out for this and eventually you can stop it happening right at the point the very first 'catastrophic mini-molehill-to-mountain seedling' hatches.

What molehills did you demolish lately?

- Carl