Zoom out
When worry plays only the worst case, lay out the worst, best and most likely outcomes, and how you would cope.
Key takeaways
- Worry replays the worst case, and because it is vivid, it feels likely. Most worried predictions never come true.
- Spell out the worst, the best and the most likely outcome. Then ask how you would cope with the worst.
- Finally, zoom out in time: how much will this matter in a week, a year, five years?
How often worries come true
Two psychologists at Penn State, Lucas LaFreniere and Michelle Newman, asked people with generalized anxiety disorder to write down their worries for ten days, then check over the following month which ones had come true.
Around nine in ten of the worried predictions didn't happen. For about a quarter of the participants, none of them did. And when a worry did come true, the outcome was often easier to handle than they had feared.
Putting the worst case back in its place
Aaron Beck called the mind's leap to the worst outcome catastrophizing. Worry plays the worst case on repeat, and the more vivid it gets, the more likely it feels.
Zooming out puts it back among the other possibilities. You name the worst case, then the best case, then the most likely one, which is usually in between and far more manageable. Then you ask the question worry avoids: if the worst did happen, what would you actually do?
This isn't about pretending the worst can't happen. If it turns out to be both real and likely, that's worth knowing, because it turns worry into planning.
Question 1 of 2
You sent your boss a message with an embarrassing typo. Which response is zooming out?
How to do it
Zoom out
- Worst case
Spell it out concretely. Vague dread is harder to deal with than a specific scenario.
- Best case
Just as concrete. It reminds you the range is wide.
- Most likely
What is most likely to happen, and what makes you think so?
- If the worst happened
What would you do? Who could help? People usually cope better than they predict.
- Zoom out in time
How much will this matter in a week? A year? Five years?
Kofi's driving test
Kofi's driving test is on Friday. He's been lying awake picturing it: he stalls at the first light, the examiner fails him in five minutes, and everyone at work asks how it went. He has passed two practice tests with his instructor, and he can retake the test in a few weeks if he fails, though it costs money.
Question 2 of 2
Sources and further reading
- LaFreniere, L. S., & Newman, M. G. (2020). Exposing worry's deceit: Percentage of untrue worries in generalized anxiety disorder treatment. Behavior Therapy, 51(3), 413-423.
- Beck, A. T., Emery, G., & Greenberg, R. L. (1985). Anxiety Disorders and Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective. New York: Basic Books.
Finish the lesson
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