Catastrophising: What It Is, Why It Matters, and What We Can Do About It

Chronic pain has become a modern epidemic, with major consequences for individuals and society. Beyond the unpleasant experience for the individual, chronic pain contributes to absenteeism, presenteeism, disability, increased medical use, and many even report a loss of self (Le Borgne et al., 2017; Paschali et al., 2021). Despite a clear shift in healthcare toward treating “the person, not the disease”, many clinicians continue to implement biomedical advice and treatment that overlooks the psychosocial elements of pain (Christe et al., 2021).

One of the most important psychosocial factors in pain management is catastrophising, often referred to as one of the “Big Five” yellow flags (Williams et al., 2023). This article introduces what catastrophising is, why it matters, and what clinicians can do to help patients change these thinking patterns.

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