Surely in your mind you can visualize the image of a small snowball, which as it progresses begins to get bigger and bigger. This situation can be extrapolated to the psychology of people, especially when they begin to suffer from anxiety, being known as the snowball effect. At Healthy Work we also have Employee assistance programs, where we can help you treat this effect.
What is the snowball effect in psychology?
When we talk about the snowball effect, what we are doing is a metaphor that is capable of defining any action or event in our lives that starts smallBut Little by little it gets bigger and meaningful. In the end it's like a snowball coming down a mountain.
At first it will be small and manageable, but as it goes down it grows, until it is very difficult to control. This snowball effect serves perfectly to describe anxiety. This usually begins with a small or isolated event, which the more we think about it, the more it grows and the more difficult it becomes to control, and can affect our personal well-being.
This effect usually starts with a small thought, such as 'I'm going to be late for an event'. After this another thought may come like "if I'm late they'll be very angry with me", then another may come like "they won't talk to me again" or "they won't invite me again" and so on until they go from one small thought to another. bigger and with consequences that, at that time, are still uncertain.
How can the snowball effect affect your psychology?
As we have said, the snowball effect is to go from a small thought to a larger one, which we are already unable to control. In this sense, the snowball effect in psychology can produce situations such as the appearance of anxiety. The problem with this is that there comes a time when the ball gets so big that we think it's going to suffocate us. In this sense, that feeling of being out of control usually translates into the appearance of anxiety attacks. Many times, when we begin to suffer from it, we do not know exactly the thought or moment in which this snowball effect began to occur.
There are people whoThe anxiety that they begin to suffer begins to occur with physical symptoms. These can be tachycardia, sweating, palpitations, shortness of breath, problems falling asleep, among others. Other people are quick to recognize these uncontrolled thoughts that you have.
In this sense, the thoughts that usually lead to the snowball effect are usually negative and almost always related to things that we believe may happen to us in the future. These thoughts tend to be repeated a lot in a very short time, as if we had the power to visualize future situations and their consequences in our lives.
The problem of anxiety that is caused by this snow effect in psychology is the great disproportionality that exists between thoughts and reality itself. These are not usually reasoned and are given by an idea that is growing very quickly and in a very short time.
What can be done to stop the snowball effect?
As we have said, the snowball effect in psychology usually begins with a small thought. This thought can arise on many occasions, but sometimes it occurs at night, when we are already in bed about to sleep. At that moment, you may start to think about everything you have to do the next day, and you may suffer from anxiety.
When this happens to us, the key may be to be aware of what is happening at that moment, knowing that those thoughts are only going to take you one place. With this, what is sought is prevent these thoughts from gaining momentum, preventing it from being mounted is a snowball effect on your head.
The sooner you realize what thoughts are causing that snowball effect, the easier you can stop this whole process. Therefore, at that moment that you see those thoughts that can lead to the appearance of anxiety begin to be created, the best thing to do is focus on other ideas.
That is, in those moments what you can do is think about those positive things that could have happened to you during the day. You can take a pencil and paper and begin to express there the good or pleasant thing that has happened to you. Focusing your attention on this could help you avoid negative thoughts that can lead to situations such as anxiety.
Is all anxiety that we suffer negative?
Another key point that we want to address within the snowball effect is whether the anxiety that we may suffer is always negative. The answer is clearly no. exist different levels of anxiety, sometimes there may be attacks of this type that can be healthy or necessary for our health.
In the end, anxiety is nothing more than a defense mechanism of our body. Without it, we could not have the mental and physical reflexes we need to succeed in many difficult situations.
Of course, this anxiety that is described within the snowball effect, it is important that it be treated or stopped. The origin usually gives you thoughts that quickly separate from your real life, taking you to scenarios that are only in your imagination, but that you extrapolate to your life.
En Healthy work We are always concerned with the well-being, comfort and motivation of employees within their workplace. For this reason, our services focus on the fact that through these improvements you can grow your level of productivity. Therefore, knowing how to treat the snowball effect in psychology is crucial, since work is usually a reason for its appearance.
Remember that if you have any questions or need more information, you can contact us and we will be happy to help you!