The Curse of Catastrophic Thinking

I was left to take charge of a cat for a couple of days recently. The cat stayed in his location and I had to go over and organise the feeding arrangements. 

Here’s a little background information. He was a house cat; he’s become an outdoor cat and he’s developed into quite a rat/mouse catcher. I was not going to stay in a place where I might be presented with such presents. So, I agreed to pop in instead.

The cat was pleased to see me and to accept the treats I always bring (could that be why he is always so welcoming?); I fed him and decided to stay around for a couple of hours so he didn’t get lonely. He left the house through the cat flap minutes after I arrived and only returned as I decided I really had to get going. I spotted him flash by into the house through the porch, just as I was about to close the front door.

I left. I’d done my duty and the cat would be fine for the next 24 hours I hoped.

It was hot and I soon began to have a niggling worry around a “what if” scenario. The worst example of that was: “What if a delivery driver popped a parcel in the porch and, not realising that the cat had popped in, closed the porch door and the cat was left to suffocate on what was turning out to be a boiling hot day?” 

I could feel my anxiety levels rising. Should I go back and check and put some water down just in case? Should I kidnap the cat (he wouldn’t have outside space with me, but a cat litter could be provided) or should I relocate for the time he was alone, cancelling my plans for the sake of something that my overactive mind was telling me might happen. The further I drove, the noisier my mind became, giving me all varieties of worsening scenarios, none of which ended well. 

In the end, faced with so much choice and so little decision-making ability because of the problem, I did nothing. I put metaphorical lid on the little niggle of what might happen and managed to get on with my daily living. 

The next day, shortly before the cat’s keepers returned, I texted them to check all was well. “We’re minutes from home,” they replied happily. 

“Phew,” I said. “That means you can make sure the cat hasn’t suffocated on the porch because he’s been locked in by a driver and has no water and couldn’t get out.”

That silenced them. I later learned (after they’d found the cat safe and well inside their shuttered and cool house) that such a thought had not occurred to them. Then, for the few minutes before they arrived at their home, it became their sole preoccupation.

That is the trouble with catastrophic (ironic in this particular case) thinking. It can take over a person, blocking all usual rational and reasonable thoughts until they’re a mass of feelings and emotions that have built up and flourished way beyond their mental control.

As the cat’s carers illustrate, this is not something that happens to everyone. In my case it occurred because I was taking responsibility for a beloved pet and was fearful of anything going wrong. No doubt that comes from my own background upbringing and fears and worries when I was growing up. 

I am not alone, as can be seen from official reaction to the pandemic of the past 18 months or so. There’s been a lot of catastrophic thinking going on there and it’s by no means all come to pass.

For example, the data experts - scientists we’re told are reasonable and rational and not inclined to hysteria - seemed to become more and more hysterical as the days went on. It is/was a new and particularly deadly virus and of course there were huge concerns. But dissent or “voices of reason” seemed to have been elbowed out. There have been times, during lockdown, when some have felt our scientific experts were less the voices of reason, and more the voices of doom. 

Catastrophic thinking can be catching, you see, and that is why we need to be so careful. It can have a bad enough effect on an individual’s mental health but imagine how damaging it can be as a collective feeling for, say, a whole country.

Take, for example, the wearing of a mask. At the beginning of the pandemic, we were told masks were not necessary. They would not protect us. Then, gradually, the advice changed to using them to protect not only ourselves but others. And so on, until it became so necessary to our alleged wellbeing that one could argue: “If I go out without a mask, I may either die or be responsible for another person’s death.” That, surely, is catastrophic thinking at its worst. And not just for one person but for millions of us. Rightly or wrongly - I don’t know - we have been terrified into submission. 

I take some comfort in knowing that this way of thinking does not have to be contagious, nor does it have to pass down from one family member to another. The key is to become aware of your own thought process. A particular benefit of becoming a thoughtful and aware adult is that you get to choose how you manage life’s unpredictable events.  

The best way to take any decision is through use of the rational and reasonable methods you have - hopefully - acquired in your journey as an adult, adding a touch of emotions into the mix to check what your gut reaction feels. 

Catastrophic thinking is tiring and can keep you in your “freeze” mode long after it’s necessary. It is unhealthy and undoubtedly detracts from the pleasures of life. In the case of the cat and me, what could have been a mutually beneficial exchange was at risk of turning into a dreadful drama. And what would be the point of that? For best results, keep that in mind.

Photo 2 by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

 

 

If Not Now, When?

Our PM was referring to the opening up of the country after our latest lockdown when he said those words. I've lost count whether it's the third lockdown or the end of one continuous lockdown but, for once, Boris Johnson's words made sense to me. 

If not now, when? A powerful question. A question that has no good answer. 

Clearly, we all have our own views about lockdown. When there was no chance and it looked as though the Sage team were advocating a perpetual lockdown we all seemed pretty annoyed. Now, we seem to be pretty annoyed the other way. “What? Make up our own minds? Choose to self-isolate or go out? Mix with more than one person? Socialise? Noooooo!”

Choices, choices. And no sure answer. If we go out, so we’re told, numbers will surge. If we stay in, surely our resistance to other more “normal” illnesses such as flu or colds will diminish? If we’re not exposed to them, will we become less immune to the bugs we can usually resist? The absolute opposite of Covid, of course, except that most of us are trusting that our vaccinations will protect us to at least some extent.

So, a decision has to be made and it has, even though it’s not quite the final decision we were told we could expect. It looks like our PM may be procrastinating again. Still, in his shoes, who wouldn’t?

But I procrastinate. The purpose of this post is not about lockdown, it is about procrastination. It wasn’t my intention to link the latest lockdown decision with procrastination but it would be foolish not to take an opportunity so graciously given.

If not now, when? 

A few quick questions. Have you finally written that novel you’ve been planning for years? Have you thrown out all your unused/unwanted wardrobe items now you’ve had a bit of time on your hands? And what about that diet and all the exercise you were planning to do when you could just spare the time?

No? If not, why not? The amazing playwright Jack Rosenthal said he would do anything and everything before he sat down to work including cleaning the house from top to bottom and reading the telephone directory. Deadline-itus is something many people can recognise, not just writers. They will put off doing whatever it is that needs to be done until the last possible moment.

But why? Surely, it’s better to prepare for the task, complete it, enjoy the satisfaction of finishing it (Gestalt) and then moving on to the next one. That would seem a good way of working.

It would seem so but, while many of us know this in our heads, we still manage to block ourselves. It’s such a rich source of curiosity that there’s a fair amount of research on it. 

One reason for procrastination may be boredom - the subject matter does not interest you. Or there may be a lack of incentive - is there a benefit if you complete the assignment? Will somebody read it, will you be praised, will you be rewarded? Or does nobody care?

Perhaps you are not confident about the work in hand. You may not know where to begin, let alone where to end. So, by doing nothing, while you may not be succeeding you are most definitely not failing. Nor will you be found out, providing the assignment you’re not working on was not given to your boss, in that case, h/she may expect a response. 

The fear of failure comes into play from the emotional part of your brain: the amygdala that controls the fight, flight or freeze response. It’s very useful as an instinctive protector of your wellbeing - for example, watching out for you while you’re crossing the road and reading your smart phone - but you need to be careful not to allow it to override your reasonability. 

If you only work with your instinct and forget about both your learned experience and your ability to make your own judgment call, you would never do anything. Procrastination would have won.

As I write this, I am aware that procrastination may not be a “dirty” word to everyone. If so, apologies and please continue you as you are. If not, here are some thoughts.  

Researchers in one study talk about the necessity of locomotion in order to get the better of procrastination. In other words, the need for a driver or motivation that will overcome your inertia. Find yours. Ask yourself what is stopping you from taking on the task that most probably came from you in the first place. Is it fear, is it inertia, is it lack of confidence in your ability or lack of knowledge in how to go about it - where to start?

Identifying the answer to the initial question can begin the process of unlocking. If you don’t have the motivation, then it’s highly unlikely that you’ll complete the task. But, if you find that is the case, get rid of the idea, move on. Don’t allow it to linger in the back of your mind where you always promised yourself one day you would … it’s gone, finished, goodbye.

But if, after that soul-searching part, you decide you do want to continue, make a start and envisage each step along the way. If we’re talking about the novel, imagine writing the first chapter; if we’re talking about emptying cupboards, imagine clearing one space at a time. Imagine how good that will look and how pleased you will feel.

That, in the end, is the whole point of it. Procrastination can gnaw at you, sapping your energy and leaving you with a faintly uncomfortable nagging feeling that you should be doing something but you’re not. Imagine moving past that stage, getting on with what you have chosen to do and imagine the satisfaction and relief you’ll feel after you’ve completed that task.  

Go for it. If not now, when?

By Lulu Sinclair

 

Photo 1 by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Photo 2 by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Photo 3 by Sarah Kilian on Unsplash