"Something Bad Is Going to Happen"

Over-estimating danger is a common thinking trap. Often tied to a core belief or learned from past experience, we can fall prey to believing that something bad is going to happen. For some people, it can be an accompanying thought to a low-level feeling of anxiety that is often described as "a feeling of dread." If your childhood was filled with uncertainty or chaos, you most likely live with low level anxiety. Our fight-or-flight system responds to this low level anxiety as "something is wrong." The same will occur if you have been triggered to a past trauma. This can create a loop of feelings, thoughts and behaviours; therefore referred to as a thinking trap. When we over-estimate danger, we exaggerate the chance that something bad will happen. We are much better served when we begin to realize that these thoughts are tied to the past and are now misplaced anxiety. We can challenge the thought by asking ourselves "Am I confusing the possibility with certainty?" It is about using our rational brain to comfort our emotional brain; focusing on the facts of "I am safe, I am in charge of me, I have choices." Photo by Imre Tomosvari on Unsplash