Rethinking “Catastrophic” Thinking, Part 1

In the face of an unprecedented pandemic, anxiety is warranted, but should not become debilitating or incapacitating. Drawing from the lessons of evolutionary psychology, Dr. Nando Pelusi, a cognitive-behavioral psychologist and frequent contributor to "Psychology Today," offers practical advice on how to calibrate our responses to danger. We are “hardwired” to respond to threats with our primitive limbic systems; ideally, our rational brains can provide us with sensible “reality checks” to rein in our maladaptive fears. This is the essence of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) which seeks to analyze the basis of our feelings and substitute helpful narratives to help us better interpret them. How to talk to children about the pandemic? How to cultivate resilience? How to cultivate a balance between complacency or denial vs. unproductive chronic worry. Click HERE for part 2.