It‘s a survival instinct to think about the worst case scenario. It keeps us safe from life threatening instances, like avoiding being stomped by the mammoth you're hunting - or, in modern times - looking both ways before walking into the road.
But for ADHDers, it goes much deeper...
People around us may have openly expected the worst of us: like excluding us from tasks they think we can't complete or complaining that we'll be late or too slow. So we also tend to expect the worst outcomes from ourselves.
We develop pattern recognition from traumatic events which causes us to perceive more future events as embarrassing, awkward, or traumatic - further reinforcing our doom-mindset.
Worst case thinking can leave us feeling paralyzed when it becomes time to make a choice. We can miss out on opportunities and connections when we decide on the safety of avoidance.
If you're ready to changing your mindset when it comes to worst case thinking, consider the following...
STOP TIME TRAVELING Ground yourself in the moment and where you are. You're not a time traveler! All that is real is what's happening right now.
“Don‘t get ahead of yourself. We‘re not there yet.“
ASK YOURSELF...
"When is the last time this horrible thing ACTUALLY happened?“
"How many times did it go fine?“
Take control of the ADHD chaos with expert-developed "plug-and-play" tools for LIFE in 3C Activation: created for ADHDers, BY ADHDers. A 12 week online group coaching program designed for adults looking to better manage their personal and professional life with ADHD. Learn more
All my best,
Coach Brooke