Whether or not we are fully conscious of it, we choose irrational interpretations. And counterintuitively, we do it because it feels good.35 We are not just victim to our painful emotions. We indulge them. We choose to catastrophize because, perverse as it may seem, self-pity gives us a kind of short-term high, even if it habitually locks us into deeper lows. When we allow the mind to get away with thinking distorted and self-critical thoughts, our reward system trains it to do it more.36 In order to choose long-term well-being, we have to resist the urge to indulge in our own pain.
