3 Methods to Cease Assuming the Worst

Pitching story concepts to editors is a nerve-wracking job that I’ve, for essentially the most half, mastered as a contract author. Chilly pitching is virtually second nature to me at this level. However there are events once I suppose a pitch is horrible.

So horrible, actually, my thoughts conjures a state of affairs the place the editor has known as all their coworkers into the workplace to snicker on the digital vomit splashed into their inbox. “OMG, guys, what is that this?!” I think about the editor says to their colleagues, who unanimously agree that my pitch is terrible.

To raucous laughter and applause, the editor vows to name up all their editor mates. “I’m going to get this man blacklisted,” they are saying, the workplace now resembling a celebration. “He’ll rue the day he dared to ship me such half-cooked nonsense!”

Oh, pricey. Ought to I e mail the editor to profusely apologize for the horrible pitch and take it again? I don’t need to get blacklisted! Is that even attainable? How would I do know? If I ship pitches to different locations and don’t get a response, does that verify that I’ve been blacklisted? Is there an ombudsman or somebody I can contact about this type of factor?

That is my mind leaping to conclusions. That is the Worst-Case Situation™. That is catastrophizing.

[Get This Free Download: 9 Truths About ADHD and Intense Emotions]

The reality is, till the editor responds — both positively or negatively — a pitch exists in superposition: neither good nor dangerous. Mainly, it’s Schrödinger’s Submission.

In lots of circumstances (and as freelance writers know), pitches do go unanswered. This vacuum of information typically pushes my panicky mind to fill the void with horrible, catastrophic situations.

ADHD Catastrophizing: Why Do I Assume the Worst?

To my thoughts, this damaging and paralyzing thought course of is the unholy union of a fertile creativeness and emotional dysregulation — joined by ADHD.

I’ll have embellished the worst-case state of affairs story above, however in case you have ADHD, you most likely catastrophize, too. You know the way simply your mind conjures horrible outcomes, lots of which have solely a unfastened relationship with cause and logic.

[Read: “Why Do I Assume the Worst-Case Scenario?” How to Stop the ADHD Mind from Worrying]

The best way I see it, catastrophizing is a common ADHD trait. It runs alongside despair and anxiousness and the propensity to overthink.

Catastrophizing is an insidious course of; a hijacking of the thoughts’s eye that causes it to see solely oblivion because it friends into an unknowable future. What’s worse, consciousness of catastrophizing isn’t sufficient to eliminate it.

Fortunately, I can name on a couple of efficient suppression methods to mood the worst of catastrophization when it does creep up.

Find out how to Cease Catastrophizing with ADHD

1. Look to Historical past

I’m not speaking concerning the Warfare of the Roses or the Dreyfus affair; I’m speaking about your private historical past. Assume again to instances when your ADHD mind rushed to horrible conclusions. How typically did that innocuous occasion truly find yourself in disaster? By and huge, you’ll uncover the catastrophizing mind isn’t a clairvoyant mind.

Even when issues do go badly, it isn’t sure they’ll finish badly. For instance, possibly you misplaced a job (and even obtained fired) however are actually a lot happier in your new administrative center. Maybe you broke up with a long-term accomplice and satisfied your self that you just’d by no means recuperate. Did that occasion —which your mind may see no well beyond on the time — pave the way in which so that you can meet your present accomplice? Regardless of the case could also be, the purpose is that even when dangerous issues occur, they typically serve to open higher branches of life. Maintain this in thoughts that can assist you cease the snowball of preoccupation earlier than it gathers mass and tempo.

2. Ape the Stoics

Epictetus packed this concept of letting life unfold as it might right into a neat two-word phrase: Amor fati. (That’s “love of destiny” for you Latin audio system.) The Stoic thinker urged us to calmly settle for what occurs as a result of all exterior occasions are out of our management.

I’m undecided how acquainted Epictetus was with ADHD, however amor fati is less complicated mentioned than completed for these of us with the situation. Nonetheless, it’s a philosophy price pursuing. Life is chaotic sufficient with out us inventing extra issues for ourselves.

3. Get Shifting

When catastrophic considering commandeers your mind, it may be onerous to get on with anything. However train is a time-tested countermeasure to assist enhance your temper and mitigate the results of wayward ideas and horrid hypotheticals.

For some individuals, a protracted stroll in nature helps them substitute a depressing disposition with a hopeful outlook, or perhaps a extra goal one. For others, placing their muscular tissues below rigidity on the gymnasium can do the trick.

Give your self permission to attempt the following pointers if you happen to’re catastrophizing. In spite of everything, what’s the worst that would occur?

Catastrophizing with ADHD: Subsequent Steps

SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thanks for studying ADDitude. To help our mission of offering ADHD schooling and help, please consider subscribing. Your readership and help assist make our content material and outreach attainable. Thanks.

Save