This week Rachel and Lynne chat with psychologist Sabina Read about catastrophising, perfectionism and the freelance stress spiral.

Sabina explains catastrophising as a cognitive distortion where we jump to the worst-case scenario and treat thoughts as facts, and why it can show up more in freelancing due to a lack of workplace "guardrails" such as regular income and employer support.

They discuss:

• the difference between genuine, evidence-based concerns (like fewer jobs or more competition) and catastrophising
• how scarcity vs abundance mindsets influence freelance anxiety
• why perfectionism fuels anxiety, and why "good enough is good enough"
• how the brain reinforces threat-focused neural pathways – and how to build new ones by noticing what's working
• practical circuit breakers and using breath to come down from fight-or-flight before making decisions
• how avoidance fuels fear, and how resilience is built by tolerating discomfort without over-attaching to outcomes
• being discerning with social media and algorithm-driven negativity
• clarifying what you want to move toward (not just what you want to escape), and the power of saying no to misaligned work

Find Sabina at sabinareadpsychology.com.au

She also hosts the Human Cogs podcast, https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/human-cogs-podcast/id1525840415 and The Separation Guide Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-separation-guide-a-starting-point-for/id1542151561

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co