worksheet

identifying your
automatic thoughts
Individuals who struggle with negative self-talk – which is associated with wide variety of
clinical issues (e.g., depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, eating disorders, etc.) – have
certain kinds of automatic thoughts that distort their view of themselves and their world. These
thoughts – which are sometimes called “thinking errors” or “negative automatic thoughts” – are
irrational because they are not based on any facts; however, people experiencing psychological
disorders, such as depression and anxiety, often act as if they are true.
Recognizing your irrational automatic thoughts and replacing them with rational ones can be
an important part of overcoming your problems. First, identify any negative automatic thoughts
you may be having. Several different types of common automatic thoughts are included on the
following list. Go through this list and see if you can give any examples of situations when you
have this type of thought.

Discounting
You insist that your accomplishments or positive qualities “don’t count.”
Example: ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Mind Reading
You assume that people are reacting negatively to you when there is no real evidence for this.
Example: ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Fortune Telling
You arbitrarily predict that things will turn out bad.
Example: ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Copyright © 2019, Lawrence E. Shapiro. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Worksheets. All rights reserved.
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Magnification/Minimization
You blow negative possibilities way out of proportion. You minimize the importance of positive
interactions or events.
Example: ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Emotional Reasoning
You reason from how you feel rather than from what logic would tell you. For example, you
might feel that someone is disappointed with you even when there is no evidence this is true.
Example: ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

“Should” Statements
You criticize yourself or other people with “shoulds” or “shouldn'ts,” “musts,” and “oughts.”
Example: ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Labeling
You identify with your shortcomings. Instead of saying, “I made a mistake,” you tell yourself, “I’m a
jerk,” “a fool,” or “a loser.”
Example: ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Catastrophic Thinking
You imagine that the worst possible thing could happen in a given situation even though there is
no evidence that this might be so.
Example: ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Looking back at the types of automatic thoughts, which ones do you think you experience
the most?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Copyright © 2019, Lawrence E. Shapiro. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Worksheets. All rights reserved.
29
30 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Worksheets

Challenge Automatic Thoughts

Use the first column to write down your automatic thoughts whenever you have them. Then, rate how
much you believe that each thought is true in the second column (1 = I understand that this thought is not
really true, and 10 = I strongly believe that this thought is true). Then, write down what type of automatic thought
this is in the third column (e.g., mind reading, catastrophic thinking, “should” statements, and so on).

In the fourth column, based on your understanding of how your automatic thoughts can be distorted, write
a rational or realistic thought to replace the irrational automatic one. For example, if you think: “If I get on a
plane, with my bad luck, I am sure that it will crash,” then the rational replacement thought might be: “Planes
are the safest way to travel and are much safer than driving a car or taking a train. My luck has nothing to do with
whether there is a problem on a particular flight.”

Finally, rate how much you believe that this replacement thought is true (1 = I know that this is the rational
way of thinking, but I don’t really believe it, and 10 = I strongly believe that this is true).
 worksheet
challenge
automatic thoughts
How strongly
How strongly do
Rational do you
you believe that Type of automatic
Irrational automatic thought replacement believe that
this thought is thought
thought this thought
true? (1-10)
is true? (1-10)

Copyright © 2019, Lawrence E. Shapiro. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Worksheets. All rights reserved.
31