Addicted to Chaos: How Rumination and Catastrophizing Hijack Your Peace (and How to Stop) | Episode 283

Fragmented to Whole: Life Lessons from 12 Step Recovery

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I recently came across the phrase, “Stop extending the life of your problems.” This resonated with me because before I got into recovery, I hadn’t realized I was massively extending the life of my problems for DECADES on end by ruminating on the past and catastrophizing about the future. This, I have come to realize, is a very common trait for those of us in ACA (Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families). This week’s episode 283 of the Fragmented to Whole Podcast is about how rumination and catastrophizing hijack your peace (and how to stop)!

If you feel like you don’t know how to be in your life, be in your feelings, feel situated within yourself or how to be in relationships or organizations, it’s probably because you’re more focused on others than you are yourself. If this is you, you are a perfect candidate for Boundaries by Design: A Blueprint for Life, an 8-week structured course for women.

This group coaching program will give you the framework, coaching, and guidance to create a manual for your life. You’ll know where you end and others begin, what your responsibility is and what’s not, and what you like, want, need, and prefer.

Some of the talking points I go over in this episode include:

• How recovery helped me come to the realization that I was replaying moments from the past and living in the wreckage of the future.
• Why adult children become “addicted to excitement” and, as a result, do things to activate our nervous system.
• The 3-step solution for how to stop ruminating and catastrophizing and live in the present moment.

Be sure to tune in to all the episodes to receive tons of practical tips on living a more whole life and to hear even more about the points outlined above.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me! And don’t forget to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

Learn more about Fragmented to Whole at https://higherpowercc.com/podcast/

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Ep 42: Why Take a Daily Inventory

When Food is Love by Geneen Roth

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Chapters

1. Addicted to Chaos: How Rumination and Catastrophizing Hijack Your Peace (and How to Stop) (00:00:00)

2. Barb’s journey of discovering her rumination and catastrophizing habits. (00:03:20)

3. Why do children of dysfunctional families become “addicted to excitement”? (00:04:34)

4. How rumination and catastrophizing hijack her peace and activate her nervous system. (00:07:36)

5. The importance of sharing experiences with emotionally mature individuals to find a resolution when needing to process something. (00:09:41)

6. Barb describes how catastrophizing involved victimizing herself and perpetuating a pattern of victim mentality. (00:10:35)

7. Living in the present moment to make conscious decisions and take action. (00:12:59)