Dangers of “What if” Thinking

By Recovery. Org

“What if” thinking is one of the most harmful trains of thought of all negative thinking. Everyone is guilty of a negative thought here and there but “what if” thinking, when done consistently, can be very harmful. This type of thinking very often takes something very small, and many times even nonexistent, and turns it into something dreadful. “What if” thinking is going straight to the worst case scenario in everything. This leads to unnecessary anxiety and panic.

“What if” thinking makes the world a very threatening place to live in. Almost anything can be turned into a “what if” situation. This can happen every time you or a loved one walks out the door, every time you hear a siren, or even if the phone rings. Thinking the worst only leads to extreme anxiety and that is no way to live. This way of life is especially dangerous for someone that is trying to recover from substance abuse.

It becomes easier to manage this type of thinking when efforts are made to turn it into more realistic thinking. Listen to yourself and how you sound when you are displaying this kind of thinking and many times if you force yourself to self talk you can turn that negativity around. You can learn a lot by paying attention to yourself.

Another thing that works quite well is to recall what you were thinking about before the anxiety came on. Usually it will be some sort of catastrophic thinking that you could have tried to shrink before it got out of control. Some people will find that therapy really helps with this when the other methods do not seem to work well.

Stay motivated, 

#Bibaspeaks.