It’s normal before a new challenge possible scenarios planned. For example, if you have to attend a job interview, it’s a good idea to be prepared to answer certain questions that may come up. However, there are people who, in every situation, sometimes just every day, tend to imagine the negative consequences of a possible terrible event that may or, logically, may never happen. Sometimes, these people can be sleep deprived because of future possibilities, sometimes the weirdest. They are people who are vulnerable to disasters.

teacher from Applied Neuroscience at the University of Reading, UK, Patricia Riddell He defined catastrophism as “The tendency to assume the worst will happen when imagining a future situation, even if you have evidence that this is not the most likely outcome.”

These are the people who “they like to feel in control and, therefore, are intolerant of uncertainty”, she said, noting that it has a relationship with anxiety and, when it’s prevalent, it can be “factors in the development of mental health problems”.

the person who brings disaster You tend to believe that by imagining things that could go wrong during a given situation, you will better protect yourself from the physical or mental harm that situation will cause. “However, this trend it is only useful if you can predict correctly what will happen in a given situation and how you will feel”Riddell pointed out.

But experts call for caution with this trend because, by imagining negative future events, emotional reactions are generated and those responses will be used to determine how we will feel in the future. In addition, he reminded that often the way to predict the future is wrong, because we are not able to imagine everything that could happen. “This can cause us to create the wrong emotional response to future situations. in our heads,” he warned.

This emotional situation many times they condition life, because believing that the worst will happen can prevent you from trying new things. This is the reason why optimistic, or even realistic, people are encouraged to experience different situations which, more often than not, will allow them Enjoy an enriching experience.

Riddell says that it can also happen that a disastrous person who has tried a new situation, if it fails, your tendency to create disaster will keep you from avoiding new ones in the futurebecause you will remember the bad experience and this will add more reason not to expose yourself again.

Specialists point out that the propensity for this disaster can cause stress and anxiety which is clearly avoidable and leads to the avoidance of situations that you might enjoy or allow you to learn from.

Riddell explained 4 actions which can be tested to control this trend.

1- Decisions are better made in the morning

How many times did it happen we worry about the future at night, especially when we are going to sleep. This can lead to insomnia and, as a result, add more stress. Riddell notes that when a person sleeps, activity in the rational part of the brain decreases and activity in the more emotional part increases. The result is When you are about to fall asleep at night, you use your emotional brain to visualize the future.

If coupled with a lack of sleep or a delay in reconciling, a more sensitive mental state is produced in dealing with situations that are perceived as threatening. This can lead to thinking about what could go wrong and the person becomes more likely to create a disaster.

Neuroscience specialists recommend that in cases where you stay awake thinking about your worries, remind yourself that you are not thinking rationally at the time. When faced with the need to make a decision, he says, it’s better to wait until the next morning, when the brain is resting.

2- Don’t be too critical of yourself

Riddell recommended control inner criticism which we all bring in to avoid disaster. This unkind way of treating oneself produces unhelpful emotions and he cites to support his idea a study by the Department of Psychology at the University of Leuven, Belgium is called “Working with the inner critic: characteristics of processes and paths to change”.

When you find yourself abusing yourself, advises Riddell, just imagine if one person speaks to another in the same way, if those words would be used in the same situation. We must ask whether such language is useful and justifiable. Most likely the answer is “no”.

For this reason, neuroscientists call for “be aware of the language your inner critic uses when you are worried or stressed. If it’s too harsh, try switching to a better way to talk to yourself.”

3- If we are going to create a story, let it have a better ending

“Even if something went wrong in the past, it is less likely to happen in the future, despite what we might tell ourselves. If you have a tendency to make disasters about future events, try to think about how this event can go well, which can help you feel less anxious”Riddel said.

Another way is to imagine several possible stories about the same situation. Perhaps it helps to realize that the situation one imagines about the problem to be faced in the future is simply that: imagination.

Focusing on positive outcome stories will also help you feel less worried or stressed.

4- Be kind to yourself

There are people who really empathize with others, but not with themselves and it is often difficult for them to change this attitude.

“Compassion and empathy thrive to help us interact well with other people . As such, compassion and empathy aren’t really designed to be used by oneself,” he said.

With this in mind, he suggests adopting small gestures, similar to those of a friend who would give advice in a given situation. The idea is to give yourself good advice, as you would a loved one, and adopt an attitude of compassion.

“Practicing this often can even help you see solutions where you might be focusing solely on the problem,” he says.

Ultimately, Riddell admits that imagining things in the future can be wrong is meant to keep the thinker safe. But if you find that catastrophic thoughts are affecting your mental well-being, it’s important to remind yourself that “the things you worry about maybe it will never happen And if they do, they’ll probably be a lot better off than you think.”

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