In AD 383, the king of Former Qin (qín cháo 秦朝), Fu Jian (fú jiān 苻坚), led a huge army to attack Eastern Jin. After losing the first round of fighting, Fu Jian looked down from a city wall, and was terrified when he saw the formidable battle array of the Eastern Jin army. And then looking at the mountains around, he mistook the grass and trees for enemy soldiers. As a result, when the nervous Fu Jian led his army into battle, it suffered a crushing defeat.
This idiom describes how one can defeat oneself by imaging difficulties.
草木皆兵 (cǎo mù jiē bīng)
【翻译】Every bush and tree looks like an enemy.
【释义】把山上的草木都当做敌兵。形容人在惊慌时疑神疑鬼。
【例句】淝水之战中,苻坚先是盲目乐观轻敌,后是草木皆兵,自乱阵脚。
【近义词】杯弓蛇影
【反义词】若无其事、镇定自若