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Catastrophizing refers to the anticipation without evidence of extreme and terrible consequences or outcomes of an event. Catastrophizing is a characteristic type of cognitive distortion or error that may underlie a negative and inaccurate thought (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979; Clark, Beck, & Alford, 1999). It can have negative health consequences for individuals who are managing a chronic illness. For example, a recent cancer survivor may interpret his fatigue as meaning that he will never recover his usual energy level and that he will have to give up all of his meaningful activities. This type of thinking can maintain negative emotions such as depression and lead to adverse or unhelpful behaviors such as poor medical adherence.
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Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press.
Clark, D. A., Beck, A. T., & Alford, B. A. (1999). Scientific foundations of cognitive theory and therapy of depression. New York: Wiley.
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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media, New York
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Traeger, L. (2013). Catastrophizing/Catastrophic Thinking. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_163
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_163
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
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