Everything Feels Like a Crisis—But Is It?
Why the Urgency Instinct and Catastrophizing Keep Hijacking Your Decisions
We live in a world that constantly tells us to panic. News cycles shout “breaking!” in all caps. Social media floods us with outrage. Pop-up ads warn, “Last chance to buy!” The result? Many of us live in a near-constant state of mild alarm, always bracing for something terrible that might happen at any moment.
Two powerful psychological forces are at play here: the urgency instinct and catastrophizing. When they combine, they distort how we see reality—and, more importantly, how we make decisions.
Let’s explore what’s going on, how it shows up in daily life, and how to push back.
What Is the Urgency Instinct?
Coined and explored by Hans Rosling in Factfulness, the urgency instinct is our tendency to react hastily when we perceive a threat that demands immediate action. It evolved for good reason: our ancestors needed to respond quickly to physical danger. Fight, flight, or freeze wasn’t just a cliché—it was survival.
But in our modern world, the “threats” we face are usually abstract, exaggerated, or artificial. An expiring discount code isn’t a tiger in the bushes. A breaking news alert doesn’t always justify interrupting dinner. Yet we react as if our lives depend on it.
Urgency narrows our thinking. It suppresses long-term reasoning. It makes us impulsive, anxious, and—crucially—easier to manipulate.
What Is Catastrophizing?
Catastrophizing is a cognitive distortion—a mental habit of assuming the worst-case scenario is not only possible but likely. It’s the voice in your head that turns “my boss wants a quick call” into “I’m getting fired,” or “the market dipped today” into “I’m going to lose everything.”
It often starts with a “what if…” and ends with spiraling anxiety:
What if this means the whole system is broken?
What if I miss out and never get another chance?
What if this is just the beginning of something much worse?
Catastrophizing magnifies risk. The urgency instinct accelerates the response. Together, they make everyday situations feel like five-alarm fires.
How These Two Forces Feed Each Other
Think of the urgency instinct as the accelerator and catastrophizing as the navigation system stuck on the “disaster route.” One tells you to move fast, and the other tells you you’re heading toward doom.
The result:
You make snap decisions based on worst-case thinking.
You mistake discomfort for danger.
You confuse pressure for truth.
This combination is powerful—and dangerous.
Where We See This in Real Life
1. In the News Cycle
The media knows urgency sells. Headlines are crafted to induce panic: “Markets Plunge!” “Democracy in Crisis!” “Experts Warn of Collapse!” These are designed not just to inform you but to prompt a reaction now, often without nuance or data.
If you’re already prone to catastrophizing, you’ll take these headlines not as possibilities to consider but as inevitabilities to fear.
2. In Online Shopping
Retailers use countdown timers, “only 2 left” alerts, and phrases like “while supplies last” to trigger your sense of urgency. Pair that with the catastrophizing voice—“If I don’t buy it now, I’ll miss out forever!”—and your cart fills up fast.
Spoiler: that sale will probably restart next week.
3. In Work and Leadership
Urgency and catastrophizing thrive in dysfunctional work cultures. A slight dip in numbers turns into a “crisis.” A competitor’s new feature becomes “an existential threat.” Leaders make panicked pivots. Employees scramble. No one stops to ask, “Is this a blip or just noise?”
Reacting this way isn’t strategic—it’s reflexive.
The Cost of Living in Constant Crisis Mode
Living in a perpetual state of urgency and catastrophe can:
Damage your mental health: Anxiety, burnout, and decision fatigue become the norm.
Lead to poor decisions: You overcorrect, overreact, or commit to bad choices to feel like you’re doing something.
Break trust: If everything’s a five-alarm fire, people stop listening. Urgency inflation sets in.
Shrink your perspective: You focus on immediate threats and ignore long-term opportunities.
You don’t just become stressed. You become short-sighted.
How to Push Back
1. Pause the Reaction
The most effective countermeasure to urgency is time. Unless it’s a true emergency, give yourself space to think. Urgency is a feeling, not a fact.
Ask: Is this urgent, or is it just presented that way?
2. Challenge the Catastrophe
When your brain jumps to the worst case, respond with questions:
What’s the most likely outcome—not the most extreme one?
Have I encountered this pattern before, and how did it ultimately unfold?
What would I advise a friend to do at this moment?
You’ll likely find that your imagined disaster is just that—imagined.
3. Seek Context, Not Just Content
Before acting on a headline, a post, or an alert, ask: What’s the bigger picture? Who is presenting this as urgent, and why? What data is missing?
Urgency and catastrophizing thrive in the absence of context.
4. Practice “Opposite Action”
This is a tool from Dialectical Behavior Therapy: when your instincts tell you to panic or act quickly, do the opposite—slow down, breathe, and investigate.
It’s not avoidance. It’s control.
The World Is Getting Louder—You Don’t Have To
Your mind is a powerful tool. But it’s also easily hijacked—by instincts that once protected you but now misfire in a hyperconnected world. The urgency instinct and catastrophizing aren’t signs that something is wrong with you. They’re signs that you’re human.
But just because you feel panic doesn’t mean you need to act on it.
Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is nothing—yet. Permit yourself to wait, to analyze, to choose instead of react.
The world will still be there tomorrow. So will the opportunity. So will the truth.
And your future self will thank you for taking the time to respond with clarity—not a crisis.