The Anxiety of ‘What If’

Overcoming the "What-Ifery": How to Tame Your Brain's Catastrophic Thinking

In this episode, Vanessa Gorelkin discusses the fascinating phenomenon of "what-ifery" — the mental habit of imagining every potential disaster. She explores how this is a natural but often unhelpful part of human cognition and offers practical, science-backed tools to build resilience against anxiety caused by relentless hypothetical fears.

Main Topics:

• The neurological basis of "what-ifery" and intolerance of uncertainty
• How catastrophic thinking amplifies anxiety and shrinks your world
• Five effective techniques grounded in cognitive science for managing worry and uncertainty
• Practical tools like labeling thoughts, shrinking timelines, and body anchoring
• How to shift from prediction to capability to foster confidence in decision-making

Thanks for listening!

Please share the show with anyone who may enjoy it. We'd love it if you'd leave us a 5 star review wherever you're listening- it helps listeners find the show and we read every review.

If you'd like to submit an "Untangle This" question, a comment, or an episode idea-- Email us:

realoveridealpod@gmail.com

Vanessa is available to consult professionally with individual clients. If you'd like to work with Vanessa , reach out here:

https://vanessagorelkin.com/contact-us#12398ed6-3711-4e15-ae41-4711059fd6ab

If you'd like to read about Vanessa's background, treatment perspective and techniques, or other handy information about her practice, check out her Psychology Today profile here:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/vanessa-gorelkin-scottsdale-az/809467