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Himaja Boinapalli
Therapist & Mental Health Professional, MA, MSc, EdM, MHC-LP
Hello, I’m Himaja
I am a psychotherapist, and mental health advocate based in New York.
Born in India and raised in Hyderabad, I have lived and worked across Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, and New York.
I help individuals and communities improve psychological awareness and well-being by integrating therapy, culture, and policy. My mission is to transform the way we speak about and approach mental health, making it accessible, relevant, and culturally sensitive, thus creating a world where psychological well-being is truly realized.
![Do you often imagine the worst possible outcomes of a situation, even when they’re not necessarily that bad? It is a cognitive bias/thought bias called catastrophizing. Something maybe bad, but the thoughts will make you believe that something far worse is going to happen/ happening.
🌸Preparing yourself to face the worst case can be wise. However, imagining a bad situation to be catastrophic or the end of the world, jumping to worst conclusions with very limited, biased information or reasoning is catastrophizing.
Ex:
💁What if I fail, I’ll become a failure. I’ll never succeed in this.
💁If we break up, I’ll always be alone.
💁What if my mom gets Covid & dies?
🌸Anxious people tend to catastrophize a lot more, & in-turn catastrophizing increases their anxiety and stress. People may or may not have control over such catastrophizing thoughts. (For example, people with anxiety disorders can have uncontrollable worry & thoughts)
🌸Other tips to handle such thoughts:
💁Accepting that both good & bad things happen to all of us. When something really bad happens, one can bounce back & move on positively in life.
💁Scheduling worry time: Think of the possible worries, fears and catastrophizing thoughts. Then, think of other possible scenarios & other perspectives. Ask yourself what your best friends would say about this..
💁Self care: Undoubtedly, regular exercise, good diet, pursuing a hobby or a creative passion, prioritising sleep, staying connected to dear ones, journaling, meditation, or any self care practices you like to indulge in can work wonders to prevent catastrophizing thoughts.
[Source: How to stop catastrophising – an expert’s guide. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/29/stop-catastrophising-expert-guide-psychologist. Inspired from @juliesmith ]
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