Catatrophizing

During the first phase of the Pandemic I was in shock. How could the world go into lockdown? Slowly but surely I have moved on to fear. I started to paint the picture you see with this post. The three figures in the middle have the virus. As I worked on the painting I realized how hard it is for me to feel emotions. It is only during the process of painting that I realized how scare I was of getting sick. My fear is based on the randomness of how people get sick and then either survive or die. Since randomness is one of my anxiety triggers, this is the type of moment when I have a tendency to catatrophize. First I list all the reasons why I have not gotten sick yet. Then the processes in place to help me stay well, masks and gloves. Since catatrophizing thoughts can pop into my head at any moment, it is essential that I watch my thinking and try to keep my brain busy with mindful thoughts. The moment is usually safe.