Challenging Your

Negative Thoughts
Our thoughts play a key role in how we feel. Sometimes our feelings are accurate.
Other times, they are completely wrong. No one’s thoughts are completely accurate
100% of the time. This means that we all have times when our feelings are based
on an inaccurate assessment of a situation.

There are two types of negative thinking that people with anxiety experience:

+ overestimating the probability that their fears will come true

+ overestimating how bad it would be if their fears did come true.

It’s tempting to try and battle or avoid negative thoughts. However, the more we fight

them or avoid them, the worse they can become. A more effective strategy is to face them

mindfully and realistically. This allows you to acknowledge what the thoughts are and step

back from the negativity while seeing the situation more clearly. This process is known as

cognitive defusion.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01149
When you’re fused with your thoughts, you believe them. You take them seriously

and make choices based on them. In cognitive defusion, you learn to separate from

and see the thoughts in your head in a neutral way. They’re just thoughts, not reality.

When you can separate yourself from your thoughts, they lose their power over you.

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Using
Thought Challenging
A powerful way to change your negative thinking is to use what’s known as Thought

Challenging. Thought challenging is a process that involves identifying your negative

thoughts, challenging them, and replacing them with more positive, realistic thoughts.

It might be tempting to avoid dealing with those negative thoughts because they can be

quite anxiety-provoking. You can’t change what you’re not willing to face. So it’s important

to face them and do something about them.

Steps to challenging negative thoughts:

1. Identify the Trigger: What is the situation that is creating anxiety or distress?
Ask: Who, what, Where? When? Who with? How?

2. Identify feelings/sensations and intensity: Rate the intensity of your emotions

from 0 (no distress) to 10 (extreme distress).

3. Identify the negative/unhelpful images and thoughts: What are the negative
thoughts and images you’re having? What is it that you fear will happen?

4. Look for supporting evidence: What facts do you have that the negative thoughts

!
are 100% true?

5. Look for contrary evidence: What evidence can you find that your negative thoughts
are not true? What do others say about the situation?

This step is really important because it’s easy to allow your biases or filters

to take over and only let you see what confirms your fears. Instead, look for

evidence that does not support your negative thoughts.

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6. Consider alternative, realistic views: What advice would you give your best friend?
Is there another way of seeing the situation? What does your best, most realistic

outcome look like? Visualize positive alternatives. Create a rich positive image

of your best action or most likely outcome.

7. Re-Rate the intensity of your emotions from 0 (no distress) to 10 (extreme distress):
How are you feeling now after looking at alternatives?

Now It’s
Your Turn!
On the next page, you will find a Thought Challenging Record template. Use this template

to follow the steps to challenging your negative thoughts. Take your time. At first, thinking

in this way can feel awkward and may even be a little anxiety-provoking.

Practice exploring and challenging your negative thoughts. Over time, you can develop

more healthy ways of dealing with triggering situations. Remember that you are in control

and that you can change your thought patterns.

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Thought Challenging Form
Trigger/Event What is the situation that is
creating anxiety or distress?
Ask: Who, what, Where?
When? Who with? How?

Feelings 0 (no distress) to 10 (extreme

distress)

Automatic What are the negative

/Negative thoughts and images you’re
Thoughts having? What is it that you
fear will happen?

Evidence What facts do you have

that supports that the negative thoughts
the negative are 100% true?
thoughts

Evidence What evidence can you

that does NOT find that your negative
support thoughts are not true?
the negative What do others say about
thoughts the situation?

Coping What advice would you give

Alternatives your best friend? Is there
another way of seeing the
situation? What could you
do differently? What
would be more effective?
What does your best, most
realistic outcome look like?

Re-rate 0 (no distress) to 10 (extreme

Feelings distress). Visualize positive
/Sensations alternatives. Imagine your
best action or most likely
outcome.

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