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Life · Catastrophising check

Catastrophising Checker

Is the worst case you're imagining in the realistic probability range? Takes the feared outcome, evidence for and against it, and returns a verdict.

Blank until you answer Plain-English why Copyable takeaway
Life Under 1 minute Verdict card

Catastrophising check

Waiting for your input

Enter the feared outcome, the evidence for and against it happening, and how catastrophic you're treating it. Podge returns a realistic probability range and a proportionality verdict.

What this means

This instrument starts blank so it does not judge a made-up example before you have entered your own situation.

Formula used

Amplification = (evidence_against - evidence_for) + severity_weight - prior_weight - coping_reduction

Worked example

Fearing redundancy after one difficult meeting, with nine reasons it won't happen and one that it might, but treating it as catastrophic and ignoring your ability to cope — scores as significant catastrophising.

Common questions

What is catastrophising?
Catastrophising is the cognitive pattern of imagining a feared outcome as more likely or more devastating than the evidence supports. It is a normal anxiety response that becomes a problem when it consistently distorts decision-making.

What does 'amplification' mean here?
Amplification is the gap between how bad you're treating the feared outcome as likely to be and how bad the evidence suggests it will actually be. High amplification means the imagined scenario is significantly worse than the realistic one.

Plain-English summary

Fill in the questions on the left to generate a verdict card.

This section translates the result into a short, direct takeaway rather than leaving the page at a bare number.

Disclaimer: This is an informal thinking tool, not clinical or psychological advice. If anxiety is significantly affecting your life, speaking to a professional is the right step.

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