Agoraphobia Thoughts:Catastrophic Thinking and Negative Mind Reading

I would like to share some "cognitive restructuring" strategies that will be helpful in reversing the flow of negative thinking that fuels agoraphobia. First, I'd like to write a few posts to explain some of the cognitive mistakes people with agoraphobia commonly make (and that need restructuring). Then I will share some ways to change faulty thinking that will help you recover from agoraphobia.

Probably the biggest and most common cognitive mistake made by people with agoraphobia is catastrophic thinking.

Catastrophic thinking: Blowing negative events or feelings way out of proportion. Turning small mistakes or minor setbacks into major catastrophes through exaggerated thinking. The magnification of negative events leads to a magnification of fear, anxiety, or panic experienced as a result.

Examples of catastrophic thinking:

I get turned down after auditioning for a part in a play and I think, “This is so awful and embarrassing. I am a terrible actor and had no business even auditioning.”

I am having trouble understanding a math assignment in school and I think, “I am such an idiot who cannot understand anything. I probably won’t make it through college or be able to get a good job.”

Another cognitive mistake made by people with agoraphobia (and other anxiety disorders) is negative mind reading.

Negative mind reading: Assuming that other people are thinking and feeling negative things about you without any real evidence to support your assumption. Some people with agoraphobia live as though they were psychic, always assuming the worst case scenario when interpreting other people's comments, expressions and behaviors. People with agoraphobia suffer from a lot of unnecessary anxiety that comes from always assuming the worst when it comes to how other people might be perceiving them and wondering what they might be doing wrong to cause such negative reactions from others.

Examples of negative mind reading:

I pass someone I know in a crowded shopping mall and try to catch her attention to say hello. She walks right on by and do not even glance my way. I think to myself, "She must be mad at me about something. I wonder what I could have done to make her angry?"

I turn in a report to my boss at work that I have put a lot of effort into and anxiously await his feedback. A week passes and my boss says nothing about the report. I think to myself, "I guess he really didn't like my work. I wonder if he is not talking to me because he is trying to think of a way to fire me?" I go into work every day thinking that it may be my last.

Of course, anyone reading these can probably think of a lot of different explanations for someone passing by in a mall and not seeing you - or a boss at work taking some time to give you feedback about a report. People in crowded shopping malls just might not hear or see you and a boss could be too busy to review a report right away.

People with agoraphobia tend to focus on one possible explanation - the worst one.

Plus, negative mind reading can be compounded by catastrophic thinking as in the example with the boss and the report. Thinking the boss might not be pleased with a report might turn into the certainty of being fired in the mind of someone developing agoraphobia or related anxiety disorder.