Fear of the future: the emotional problem of catastrophic thoughts

One of the characteristics of our species as human beings is the predisposition that we show to think in the medium and long term. Thanks to our capacity for abstract thinking, we are very good at hypothesizing in a high degree of detail about what might happen under certain circumstances.

This ability allows us to solve complex problems by "experimenting" in our imaginations and making predictions about the consequences of our actions, which makes it possible for us to direct part of our lives to achieve goals for months or years sight. It is a phenomenon that does not occur with most animal species, more oriented towards immediacy: the avoidance of physical danger, immediate interaction with nearby living beings, etc.

Now, all psychological ability linked to abstract thinking goes hand in hand with new ways of developing psychological problems. And the ease with which we hypothesize about the future is no exception to this: on the other side of the coin are elements of emotional distress such as fear of the future.

• Related article: "Rumination: the annoying vicious circle of thought"

What is fear of the future as a psychological problem?

As I have anticipated, fear of the future is one of the natural consequences of our ability to think long-term and make predictions.

This is because the human mind shows a predisposition to "fill in" information gaps, that is, to use the limited information that we have and then process it and draw conclusions that remain above what we ignore, hiding it and giving us a feeling that we know more than we really know about the reality.

This bias, which consists of overestimating the information we have, does not exist by chance: it acts as an element pragmatic that leads us to make decisions and take action even when we are very far from knowing what our actions will unleash.

However, sometimes there are a series of circumstances that leave us without the protection of that optimistic bias about our knowledge, and our attentional focus shifts from being directed at what (we believe we) know, to being directed at what we do not know.

This is not necessarily a bad thing: sometimes, it helps us to rethink our beliefs and our interpretation schemes of the reality, allowing us to overcome crises or adapt to situations qualitatively different from what we are used to. Taking a step back and rethinking our way of thinking and making decisions can serve to appreciate nuances that we would have otherwise missed.

But it is true that on other occasions, fear of the future goes from being a stage of adaptation to a challenge, to being an obstacle that blocks us and prevents us from moving forward.

In situations of this type, we enter a vicious circle in which the very discomfort caused by that fear reminds us time and again that we are missing important information, that we are obliged to take certain risks and manage the uncertainty. And how we see ourselves faced with the need to "overcome" these ambiguities and lack of information at the same time that we we feel bad, we tend to bring catastrophic thoughts, predictions linked to emotions painful

• You may be interested in: "What is anxiety: how to recognize it and what to do"

How is fear of the future addressed in therapy?

Many patients who go to the psychologist suffer from a problem related to catastrophic thoughts about their future. They are unable to make decisions, and as they postpone again and again the moment to choose an option about what they should do, the problems accumulate, and their discomfort grows.

These catastrophic thoughts associated with fear of the future sometimes they have an obsessive component, and other times they are part of a depression. In one of these cases, the person tries by all means to neutralize that fear of the future by looking for solutions that eliminate uncertainty, achieving the opposite effect to that desired; in the other case, the fear of the future is based on having adopted a very pessimistic mentality about what one is capable of and about how the world works.

Knowing how to differentiate these two types of alterations with similar characteristics is very important, since the psychological therapies to be used are different depending on the origin of the problem.

For example, if the obsessive component is the predominant one, anxiety management and acceptance techniques will take center stage. of a certain level of emotional distress, so that in this way the person stops feeding the vicious circle of thoughts intrusive. And if the depressive component predominates, the person is helped to improve their self-esteem and to get involved in behavior patterns through which they force themselves to pass From thoughts to action - in this way, the emotional state triggered by those actions and the associated release of hormones will help you get out of that bump. emotional.

Are you interested in starting a psychotherapy process?

If you are looking for psychological therapy services, please contact me. I am a psychologist specialized in Clinical Psychology applied to adults and adolescents, and I work from the cognitive-behavioral model, one of the most adaptable and effective. I offer face-to-face and online sessions by video call.