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Catastrophizing is not just about watching slow German films and feeling as though life is an intolerable and senseless joke. Or reading Russian literature and feeling as though life is an intolerable and senseless joke. Catastrophizing, if practiced properly, should take place in response to any stimuli and against any backdrop.

Take, for example, a birthday party for puppies attended also by babies. A catastrophizer should be able to look at a shining furry or hairless face and think: "Not for long will those faces be shining. Soon the vicissitudes of life will take their terrible toll."

But perhaps that's too obvious. Also, there are many people who will dislike puppy/baby parties simply because Society tells them they should find such things adorable. So the example really should involve something that is not overly German or overly puppy-ish. 

Let's consider, then, a lazy Sunday afternoon doing chores and watching a bit of TV. It's not a great day, but neither is it a regrettable one. Let the catastrophizing begin. There are a number of possible jumping-off points:

This is a Sunday and it is not bad. Tomorrow is Monday and will probably be bad. Then there will be a Sunday again. And a Monday. Everything changes and ultimately comes to an end. Like life, and mine in particular.

This is not a great day. But later on in life, when I am aged and infirm, I will probably look back on such days with yearning because I will have no friends and no television.

How much of my life has been spent doing chores? Just keeping things going? Doing things that are not actively enjoyable? A great deal. Waiting in lines. Commuting. Going to pot-lucks. It's possible I will end up having had one really good hour of life by the time I die. Not that that will matter. I'll spend much longer being dead.

Remember: if catastrophizing does not come naturally to you, never fear. Or rather, always fear. And soon you'll forget you ever did anything else.

Send the Catastrophizer your requests for advice and/or rationalizations using the form conveniently provided HERE. I will publish my responses on the THE CATASTROPHIZER page.

POLITE DISCLAIMER: This site is intended for entertainment purposes only. If you are not entertained, fair enough.
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Years ago, I read, in a book I can no longer remember the name of, that hundreds of years ago (or so) in Egypt, it was culturally verboten to compliment someone else's child. Instead of saying: "Oh, what a beautiful baby! How adorable! Not at all ugly or shriveled!" one would exclaim: "My GOD, what a dismally unattractive child! I sympathize with you for having to look at such a hideous boil for the rest of its life!"

Why, you probably aren't but I will pretend you are wondering, would friends and strangers subject a child who might well be ugly but still not deserving of such treatment to such treatment?

Because complimenting a child, according to my specialist-level understanding of olden days Egyptian culture, would draw the malevolent eyes of some malevolent gods upon him or her. Someone who is high will be brought low; someone who is already low can only go up (and then down again, inevitably).

This haunting, yet exhaustively informative tale should inform your future, catastrophytes. If you are feeling peppy, immediate cleanse the palate with some wrenching fear, because clearly that enthusiasm will only bring disaster upon you. You do not have to believe in malevolent gods, only the general malevolence of life. 

But remember, though, that avoiding a sense of well-being will not help you, either. As life's malevolence is general and disinterested (so it's not really malevolence, per se, but I enjoy the meatiness of that word and so will use it despite its total inappropriateness), you can be struck by almost laughably unfortunate misfortune when you've already been punched in the neck by life. 

So did their rhetorical cunning help the Egyptians, or more to the point, their babies? Probably not. Because as I've already said, life can smite you terribly at random times, and not just when you're lookin' good.

Send the Catastrophizer your requests for advice and/or rationalizations using the form conveniently provided HERE. I will publish my responses on the THE CATASTROPHIZER page.


POLITE DISCLAIMER: This site is intended for entertainment purposes only. If you are not entertained, fair enough.


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If you were a movie or television show, which one would you be? Would you be: The Seventh Seal (not to be confused with the searingly honest Demi Moore / Michael Biehn vehicle The Seventh Sign); Ally McBeal (dated reference that might no longer have any purchase with today’s youth); High School Musical (compensating for the previous example with bracing contemporaneity); or, the first three-quarters of Hannah and Her Sisters?
Why not find out by taking the Catastrophizer’s Are You Bergman, Efron, Woody or McBeal quiz? I know “Woody” stands out because it is the first name rather the last, but I was worried you’d think I meant the Alexander Viets Griswold Allen.


1. What do you think when you hold a friend's newborn baby?

a) Oh my God, I'm going to drop it. Or sicken it. Or otherwise ruin it.
b) This child is beautiful, as is life, which alas is doomed to end in death.
c) This child will soon be a toddler, and then a teenager, and before you know it, it will be as annoying as its parents.
d) I love babies. They're ADORABLE.


2. How do you respond when you've gotten a new job?
 
a) Have I forgotten my security pass on my first day? Did I lose my day-planner? Are these nude nylons form-flattering?
b) However long this job lasts, it cannot last forever, as nothing lasts forever. We are all doomed to die.
c) It might start off well, but soon I'll be disappointing my coworkers, and then my bosses, and then they'll fire me, and soon this whole nauseating cycle will begin all over again.
d) This is awesome! I'm going to dress appropriately and make new friends!


3. What's your attitude towards a new romantic relationship?

a) Why didn't I wash my sexier underwear? Are my nails dirty? Should they be dirty? Does that mole look worrisome?
b) It doesn't matter if this relationship succeeds, because ultimately we'll both die.
c) If tonight I say something that he/she finds irritating, the rot will begin to set in, because inevitably I'll do it again, and then it will seem like a pattern, and he/she will break up with me. I won't mourn forever, thank God, because ultimately I'll die.
d) He/she is so hot! I love love. It's awesome,  just like my friends' babies.


4. How do you feel about your personal appearance?

a) Is one of my breasts and/or testicles larger than the other? Is that normal? Will my boyfriend and/or girlfriend think that's normal? Why is my torso so unusually long?
b) I will never be more attractive than I am right now, because each minute that passes, I age and sag. Ultimately, I will die.
c) I don't mind the way I look, but there's no guarantee that anyone else will ever find me attractive, or that even if they say they do, they can be believed. 
d) I'm super-hot, not like my friends who have babies.

Answer Key: 

A: You're A Nervie!
If you tended to choose A’s, you are dangerously neurotic and resemble Ally McBeal. She has, however, ended up with Han Solo, so maybe there’s a rakish space-pirate with a hidden heart of gold in your future.

B: You A Bergman!
If you were drawn to the B’s, you are dangerously morbid and fond of the films of Swedish tear-mongerer Ingmar Bergman (not to be confused with Ingrid, who was not quite as hot). His real first name was “Ernst”, but “Ingmar” is clearly hotter.

C: You're A CATASTROPHYTE ! 
If you consistently selected the C’s, you love the first three-quarters of Hannah and Her Sisters (Mickey: A week ago I bought a rifle, I went to the store - I bought a rifle! I was gonna, you know, if they told me I had a tumor, I was gonna kill myself. The only thing that might’ve stopped me - MIGHT’VE - is that my parents would be devastated. I would have to shoot them also, first. And then I have an aunt and uncle - you know - it would’ve been a blood bath), but think it goes downhill at the end by embracing hope and the promise of new life. 

D: You're An Upbeat!
If you are a “D” person, why are you reading this? Go out and play some ultimate frisbee. 

POLITE DISCLAIMER: This site is intended for entertainment purposes only. If you are not entertained, fair enough.


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