Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Where does your mind go in these moments? Your boss says "I'd like to see you in my office," and for some people that's enough to spiral straight to worst-case scenario. I must have done something wrong, I'm about to get fired, and then the entire day gets swallowed by that dread before the meeting even happens.
Or you text your partner and they don't respond. Half an hour passes, still nothing. Does your mind go to something happened to them, or they're having an affair? Or can it settle into, they're probably just busy, this is fine?
Maybe you wake up with a bit of stomach pain, and it's still there the next day. Does your mind jump to something serious, something terrible, or can you sit with it for a while and just see what happens?
A friend invites you on a wilderness hike, no cell service, no way to reach anyone. Does your mind go straight to something bad is going to happen out there? Or your friend says they'll pick you up at nine, it's ten past, and there's no message. Where does your brain go then?
These are all ordinary, everyday moments. But for someone whose mind defaults to worst-case scenario, moments like these aren't neutral. They become a kind of prison, where the brain assumes danger first and has to be talked down from there, over and over, all day long.
If this pattern feels familiar, our course Worst-Case Thinking and Complex Trauma: Why I Expect the Worst was built to help you understand where it comes from, and how to start finding your way out of it.
Where does your mind go in these moments? Your boss says "I'd like to see you in my office," and for some people that's enough to spiral straight to worst-case scenario. I must have done something wrong, I'm about to get fired, and then the entire day gets swallowed by that dread before the meeting even happens.
Or you text your partner and they don't respond. Half an hour passes, still nothing. Does your mind go to something happened to them, or they're having an affair? Or can it settle into, they're probably just busy, this is fine?
Maybe you wake up with a bit of stomach pain, and it's still there the next day. Does your mind jump to something serious, something terrible, or can you sit with it for a while and just see what happens?
A friend invites you on a wilderness hike, no cell service, no way to reach anyone. Does your mind go straight to something bad is going to happen out there? Or your friend says they'll pick you up at nine, it's ten past, and there's no message. Where does your brain go then?
These are all ordinary, everyday moments. But for someone whose mind defaults to worst-case scenario, moments like these aren't neutral. They become a kind of prison, where the brain assumes danger first and has to be talked down from there, over and over, all day long.
If this pattern feels familiar, our course Worst-Case Thinking and Complex Trauma: Why I Expect the Worst was built to help you understand where it comes from, and how to start finding your way out of it.
