Catastrophizing

So, I just got some unhappy medical news today.

The easy fixes are not feasible.  A laproscopic procedure might work, but in order to determine that, I need an MRI and a specialist to review the results, and my doc is not hopeful that the specialist will give the go ahead.

Arghh!

The other option will involve a surgery that takes a minimum 3 weeks of recovery time, up to 6 weeks.

I didn’t immediately freak out, but as I was writing an email to my partner about the details (and seeing it in print), my thoughts started getting away from me.

Will I be able to take that long off from work?  I just started 6 months ago.  Maybe I should build up my comp time so I will be able to take it off without going without pay.  I should go talk to HR right now. I need to figure this out quick because my department has a no-vacation policy in the first 4 months of next year.  How long will I have to stay off the motorcycle? 

What is the common thread here?  First, they are almost all about work!  I tend to be anxious about work before anything else.

Secondly, I was catastrophizing – instead being realistic, immediately going to bad outcomes and worrying about decisions that it isn’t time to make yet.

What is the truth?  This issue isn’t life threatening; it isn’t cancer.  Most likely, the worst that will happen is I will need to get the surgery and take it easy for awhile.

Deep breath.  Relax.

Photo By D. Sharon Pruitt from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, USA [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons