catastrophilia
catastrophilia by Dr Bunnygirl February 1, 2019
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Catastrophizing
A psychotherapeutic term for a cognitive distortion where anxiety or depression leads you to infer apocalyptic conclusions from mundane setbacks and anxieties.
Catastrophizing usually comes in a litany of steps that start from a mundane setback all the way to absolute existential hoplessness. For instance:
1. Oh no, I'm going to be late for work.
2. My boss is going to be angry.
3. I'm going to lose my job.
4. I'm not going to be able to get another one.
5. I'm going to be unemployed forever.
6. My family will starve.
7. Oh God, we're all going to die!!!
Each step in the sequence is arguably plausible, but the snowball effect takes it into the realms of absurdity after a while.
1. Oh no, I'm going to be late for work.
2. My boss is going to be angry.
3. I'm going to lose my job.
4. I'm not going to be able to get another one.
5. I'm going to be unemployed forever.
6. My family will starve.
7. Oh God, we're all going to die!!!
Each step in the sequence is arguably plausible, but the snowball effect takes it into the realms of absurdity after a while.
Catastrophizing by The Logical Fallacy August 19, 2018
Related Words
catastrophiliac
catastrophiliac by GuillaumeMemor November 6, 2006
Snowball catastrophizing
Taking an ordinary mundane situation and predicting a series of disasters, each one compounding the next, leading to one horrific catastrophe.
She thinks she's going to be homeless cuz she got one bad grade. She's always snowball catastrophizing.
Snowball catastrophizing by Sh'Quoiya December 2, 2016
catastrophania
catastrophania by Memodefinitions May 25, 2018
catastropharian
Also found as Catastrapharian.
1. Someone who overplays or otherwise overstates negative events. Catastropharians thus create a ‘mountain out of mole hill’ or worse. Such usage also includes the hypochondriac’s reaction to describing a trifling malady such as a hangnail.
2. Someone who invents catastrophes when there are none. This would be akin to Chicken Little’s ‘the sky is falling’ pronouncement upon experiencing rain.
3. Alternately, someone who literally takes a bad situation and turns it into something worse, thereby creating a catastrophe.
“The catastropharian argument is, in a nutshell, that the larger financial obligations of an older population, when spread over a smaller base of younger workers, will create a ruinous fiscal overhang…"
Goldsmith, Jeff. The Long Baby Boom: An Optimistic Vision for a Graying Generation. JHU Press. 2008. p. 35.
1. Someone who overplays or otherwise overstates negative events. Catastropharians thus create a ‘mountain out of mole hill’ or worse. Such usage also includes the hypochondriac’s reaction to describing a trifling malady such as a hangnail.
2. Someone who invents catastrophes when there are none. This would be akin to Chicken Little’s ‘the sky is falling’ pronouncement upon experiencing rain.
3. Alternately, someone who literally takes a bad situation and turns it into something worse, thereby creating a catastrophe.
“The catastropharian argument is, in a nutshell, that the larger financial obligations of an older population, when spread over a smaller base of younger workers, will create a ruinous fiscal overhang…"
Goldsmith, Jeff. The Long Baby Boom: An Optimistic Vision for a Graying Generation. JHU Press. 2008. p. 35.
According to John Richardson, George W Bush qualified as a catastropharian for his administration’s Middle East policy.
“the great catastropharian ....” John Richardson, 15 Dec 2006,
“the great catastropharian ....” John Richardson, 15 Dec 2006,
catastropharian by d-bits April 8, 2019