CBT Practice Exercises: Reframing Reactive Thoughts
Practice turning automatic thoughts into balanced ones, then try it on your own situations
CBT Practice Exercises: Reframing Reactive Thoughts
Practice turning automatic thoughts into balanced ones, then try it on your own situations
CBT Practice Exercises: Reframing Reactive Thoughts
Practice turning automatic thoughts into balanced ones, then try it on your own situations
Automatic thoughts arrive fast and feel true. When a feeling runs hot, they tend to be extreme, one-sided or blaming. A balanced thought takes in the facts on both sides, including the ones the first thought skipped, and it often brings the feeling down a few points and opens up a better next step.
Reframing is a skill, and it is easier to learn on someone else's situation, where the heat is lower. This sheet starts with three practice situations, then gives you room to work on your own.
- The first three rows are practice. Each one gives a situation, the thought that came up, the feeling and what the person did. Write a more balanced thought in the fifth column, and in the last column how the person might feel and act if they believed it.
- To find a balanced thought, ask: What facts support the first thought, and which don't fit? What else could explain the situation? What would I tell a friend who thought this? Look for common thinking traps, like mind reading or all-or-nothing thinking.
- Then fill in the remaining rows with situations from your own week. Use real moments, and rate the feeling from 0 to 10.
| Situation | Automatic Thought | Emotion and Intensity (0 to 10) | What I Did | A More Balanced Thought | How I'd Feel and Act Instead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 1. You make a small mistake in a report, and a coworker points it out in a team meeting. | Everyone thinks I'm incompetent now. | Ashamed, 8 | Stayed quiet for the rest of the meeting and skipped lunch with the team | ||
| Practice 2. A friend hasn't answered your text from two days ago. | She's tired of me. People always drift away from me. | Sad, 7 | Decided not to reach out to anyone this week | ||
| Practice 3. A driver cuts in front of you on the highway. | He did that on purpose. He thinks he owns the road. | Angry, 8 | Tailgated him and leaned on the horn | ||
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What is the CBT Practice Exercises: Reframing Reactive Thoughts worksheet?
Automatic thoughts arrive fast and feel true. When a feeling runs hot, they tend to be extreme, one-sided or blaming. A balanced thought takes in the facts on both sides, including the ones the first thought skipped, and it often brings the feeling down a few points and opens up a better next step.
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