Click here for your first exercise
Write a brief description of the specific problem that's bothering you at the top of the Daily Mood Log.
Step One: Describe the upsetting event. This can be anything that has upset you.
example: I have to give a presentation in front of an audience.
Step Two: Record you negative feelings regarding the upsetting event. feelings such as sad, anxious, angry, guilty, lonely, hopeless, frustrated, etc.
example: scared = 80 , anxious = 95
Rate each feeling with a score of 0 - 100 of how much you are feeling that. for instance, it might have made you so angry you would rate anger 75 at the same time you are feeling hopeless, how hopeless? maybe just a little hopeless give it 10 points. The number will come to you when you think of it. Do this with each of the feelings you listed.
Step Three: The triple column technique: 1st Column = Automatic thoughts.
Write down each automatic thought and rate your belief in each one. 2nd Column = Distortions in the automatic thoughts. 3rd Column. Replace the distorted thought with a rational response.
Step Four: Then go back and re-rate your belief of the automatic thought.
Then state how you are feeling now.
O Not at all better O Somewhat better O Quite a bit better O a lot better
I know I'll blow it.
I'll get so nervous
I won't be able to say a thing.
People will think I'm an idiot.
Fortune Telling,
Mind Reading
Emotional Reasoning
I usually do quite well once I get started.
Most professional admit they get stage fright. I am no different.
I am a human being an regardless of my skill or experience there will be times when I feel nervous.
2. Overgeneralization: You view a negative event as a never ending pattern of defeat.
3. Mental Filter: You dwell on the negative and ignore the positives.
4. Discounting the positives: You insist that your accomplishments or positive qualities
"don't count."
5. Jumping to Conclusions: (A) Mind Reading- You assume that people are reacting
negatively to you when there's no evidence for this; (B) Fortune telling - you
arbitrarily predict that things will turn out badly.
6. Magnification or minimization: You blow things out of proportion or you shrink their
importance inappropriately.
7. Emotional Reasoning: You reason from how you feel:"I feel like an idiot, so I must
really be one." Or "I don't feel like doing this so I'll put it off."
8. "Should statements": You criticize yourself or others with "shoulds' or "shouldn't's."
"Musts," "oughts," and "have tos" are similar offenders.
9. Labeling: You identify with your shortcomings, instead of saying, "I made a mistake,"
you tell yourself, "I'm a jerk," or a "fool,' or a "loser."
10. Personalization and blame: You blame yourself for something your weren't entirely
responsible for, or you blame other people and overlook ways that your own attitudes
and behavior might contribute to a problem.
