A friend found a knobby growth near his knee. After a few doctor visits, it was diagnosed as cancer. A cancer diagnosis is a self-sufficient catastrophe–few people need more than that to start taking immediate action.

At the same time, we live in a media culture where catastrophe has become a business model. More catastrophe leads to more clicks and more profits. It’s not a surprise that people are brought into a doom loop.

This sort of amplified catastrophe never ends, and it can easily make us feel helpless. In fact, that’s part of its goal. Endless catastrophes, endlessly examined, magnified and perfected.

Experiencing failure in advance is only helpful if the narrative causes us to take productive action. Better is possible, paralysis isn’t useful.

If the story isn’t helping you move forward, focus elsewhere. Catastrophizing is contagious, but we can work to stop the spread and get back to work.