Three CBT exercises for anxiety and overthinking

1. The thought record

A thought record slows a hot moment down into five columns. The point is not to argue with yourself, but to test whether the thought survives contact with evidence.

• Situation — what happened, factually.
• Thought — what went through your mind, in words.
• Emotion — name it and rate it out of ten.
• Evidence for and against the thought.
• A balanced alternative, and the emotion rating again.

2. The behavioural experiment

Much of anxiety is a prediction that has never been tested, because avoidance prevents the test. A behavioural experiment turns the prediction into something you can run.

Write the prediction precisely ('if I speak up in the meeting, I will freeze and everyone will notice'), decide what would count as disconfirming evidence, then do it and record what actually happened. Predictions are usually more catastrophic than reality.

3. Decatastrophising

When the mind jumps to the worst case, follow it deliberately rather than resisting it.

• What is the worst that could realistically happen?
• How would I cope if it did?
• What is the most likely outcome?
• Would I still be okay in a week, a month, a year?

Using them well

Practise on small, mildly uncomfortable situations first, and write things down rather than doing it in your head — the paper is what stops the loop from editing the evidence. If you notice the exercises are hard to start or don't shift anything, that is useful information, and a therapist can help you tailor them.

This is education, not treatment. If you are in crisis, contact a local emergency service or a mental-health helpline immediately.