Your Brain Is Addicted To Worst-Case Scenarios (3 Ways To Break The Habit)

Jay breaks down why our minds are so quick to jump to the worst-case scenario, from the evolutionary roots of anxiety to why uncertainty can send us into a spiral. He shares three practical ways to interrupt anxious thinking, including separating fear from actual evidence and bringing yourself back to what’s true right now. Jay also introduces a simple “then what?” exercise to help you stop fearing what could go wrong and trust yourself to handle whatever comes next.

With Love and Gratitude,

Jay Shetty

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What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro

00:24 Your Brain Is A Terrible Fortune Teller

02:42 Where Does Anxiety Come From?

06:14 How Your Brain Predicts What Could Go Wrong

09:32 Why Bad News Sticks in Your Mind

11:10 The Uncertainty Spiral

15:03 Stop Assuming the Worst, Look at the Evidence

18:11 Come Back to What’s Actually True

22:58 Getting Comfortable With The Unknown

26:35 The “Then What?” Exercise for Worst-Case Thinking

31:11 The Two Backpacks Analog

Episode Resources:

This episode is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

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