The ABC of CBT – the starter exercise/handout to catch your negative automatic thoughts… | Veronica Walsh's CBT Blog Dublin, Ireland

Note: you can download a PDF handout here: The ABC of CBT mini workbook – or a simple ABCD-NC example handout HERE

Introducing the ‘ABC’ Technique of cognitive behavioural therapy.

When stress becomes a disorder, from anxiety to depression, it changes how a person thinks and feels and behaves. CBT is a psycho-educational model that teaches us how to build awareness and self management to work on changing ‘distorted thinking’ and ‘self-sabotaging’ behaviours.

These CBT exercises are designed to guide and mentor you in the process of identifying unhealthy distorted thinking, and reframing it to healthy rational thinking instead. It’s a life changing skill – one that you develop through ‘learning and doing’. Initially through journalling, and then through fast mental tasks when you have built your ‘toolbox’ of tricks.

This post is a guide to the simple starter exercise, the ABC(D) thought identification and dispute exercises…. scroll it to view various examples of tried and tested styles and structures that our brains love, and pick the one that clicks with you. Get into the habit of writing things down to help you to track and recognise your negative automatic patterns, so that you can examine and correct them. Or get into the habit of putting notes and ideas into your phone app . Or download and print the sample form to go old school with paper… Think about your thinking. Think different, feel different, behave different, with CBT.

Swipe through this slideshow for chunky ABC examples from my workbook:

Start building awareness of your attributional style using this model…

The ABC 3 column form is the staple CBT worksheet : the a-b-c format is the initial and main method of CBT ‘thought identification’ – we use it to match thoughts to feelings and events, in whatever order you want. These simple forms are invaluable, especially at the start of practicing CBT (becoming your own therapist) – they help us to build awareness of how we explain the world to ourselves – they help us to see patterns of bad thinking habits and links to self sabotaging behaviour that gives us bad outcomes – and most importantly, they help us see that our thoughts and beliefs are often exaggerated and irrational, illogical and unhelpful…. Clean them up!

Below I give some simple column table examples to guide you:

A = Activating Event or situation	B = Beliefs and thoughts	C = consequence
I have an important exam approaching	‘I’m going to fail! This is unbearable, I can’t stand it. I’ll never be able to prepare for it, not with life the way it is right now. I’m useless, why am I bothering? There’s no point.	Anxious – can’t sleep – can’t focus. Procrastinate until I’m forced to cram at the last minute.
My partner has ended our relationship.	I can’t live without her. I’ll never find anybody like her again. Everybody always breaks up with me. I’ll never be in a proper relationship. Nobody will ever love me. I can’t cope with being alone, it’s awful.	Depressed – avoiding people and events – not eating properly, not sleeping properly – constant ruminating, re-running scripts of what has happened and what ‘will’ happen. Not interested in anything but that.
My friend got a job we went for, not me!	That is unbelievable – he’s a thick. And he’s not even good looking. Or funny. Or anything. Oh no, I must be even worse than him then! Or the interviewers are total idiots! Yes, they are. And I hate him. It’s not fair!	Angry, aggressive – irritable and flying off the handle. Going on and on about it to others, seeking reassurance.

See what we mean about identifying exact thoughts, and the emotions and behaviours the thoughts cause? Do you see how writing them down helps us to see that they may very well be (and often are) irrational and unhelpful? That they don’t really fit with the facts, and that we’re causing our own extreme and inappropriate upset and self defeating behaviour because of them? Can you think of different cool rational reframing that would change the feelings and behaviours to more appropriate and healthy responses? Good…

After identifying our thoughts, we need to challenge them when they are irrational (clean them up, reframe, dispute them with evidence and facts and alternative healthy rational statements instead…) – so we add a fourth column ‘D’ for dispute…

The following table gives two examples to show you how to ‘dispute’ effectively…

(Reminder – identifying your unhealthy thinking and deliberately disputing the thoughts with healthy rational thinking will bring healthier emotional and behavioural responses. Dial it down, be cool, be rational – think different, feel different, behave different – self regulate and live your best life, bit by bit to develop new thinking habits.)

EXAMPLE ONE

A = Activating Event or situation – I saw on Instagram that a couple of friends were out socialising last week – without me!

B = Beliefs and thoughts – They’re horrible! Nobody likes me. I’m dull. I’m not nice. They must think I’m horrible. My life is horrible. I’m not talking to them, I want to ‘get them back’ and punish them. I’m going to exclude them from fabulous things I’ll post on Instagram! No – I want to make them love me and want to be with me… I don’t know what to do! I can’t cope.

C = Consequential feelings/behaviour – Angry. Ashamed, humiliated, anxious, worried. Can’t stop thinking about it. Re-running a movie of it over and over in my head – imagining horrible things they’re saying about me. Keep talking to everyone about it, seeking reassurance. Sending them passive aggressive messages. Sulking.

D = Dispute: It simply is not factual that ‘nobody’ in the world likes me. I have and have had people in my life that have shown they like me, it would be more correct to say that this was an unpleasant surprise, and that it’s normal to be sad and disappointed in response to it. If I’m having problems with my social networking right now I can work on that. I’m being very hard on myself stating that I ‘am’ dull and not nice – I’ve had plenty of experiences where I was happy and had fun in situations, including with them! My feelings and behaviour varies depending on situations and people and moods, just like everybody else. If I’m not happy with the way I feel and behave right now, I can aim to change it. It’s not true that ‘life is horrible’, I can think of lots of things that are the total opposite of horrible. It would be more correct to say that I find things difficult right now. It’s not healthy for me to obsess about revenge on, or reassurance from, the group in this situation. I can make a decision to live with this and accept it. I’m being overly dramatic. I do not know the circumstances of what happened and I shouldn’t assume the worst – I don’t have all the facts. And, even if there is conflict, I don’t have to join in. Just because someone thinks little of you, you don’t have to agree with it. And you can reinvent yourself with people over and over again. I am of value – I am doing my best – I will let it go and be pleasant – I won’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and make a big drama that I can’t roll back. I will plan to be present, and to give without demanding to get, to love without demanding to be loved – to respect without demanding respect – I will try to enjoy the company of others and pay attention to the moment. I cannot mind read or control others – I can only take care of my behaviour and outcomes. I’m ok, it’s ok.

EXAMPLE TWO

A = Activating Event or situation – I have a job interview!

B = Beliefs and thoughts – I haven’t a hope of getting this job. There’ll be hundreds of applicants and I can’t compete. I’ll be nervous and ‘ordinary’ and tongue tied. It’s unbearable. I can’t stop worrying about it. It’s not worth putting myself through this, after all I know what will happen, what’s the point?

C = Consequential feelings/behaviour – Anxious, nervous, can’t face preparing, trying to ‘ignore it’ until I have to face it. Thinking up reasons to avoid and cancel.

D = Dispute: Stating ‘I haven’t a hope’ or ‘can’t compete’ is irrational as I cannot tell what will happen in the future. It would be more correct to say that I’m nervous and worried that I won’t get it and will contrast poorly with other applicants. Most people would feel that way. Yes, I expect I will probably be nervous, but that’s perfectly normal and most people are nervous at interviews. I shouldn’t label myself ‘ordinary’, everybody is unique, that term is redundant. I may or may not be ‘tongue tied, but what is that anyway? It’s not rational to imagine my tongue actually ‘tying’ and being unusable, and that image causes me to be upset – I will change that statement, it’s not useful. Using the term ‘unbearable’ is not correct, I can in fact bear it, it would be more correct to say I’m nervous and would rather not be in a situation where I need to ‘bear’ it. It’s not helpful or rational to opt out of it because of fortune telling, it’s more correct to say that I have no idea what will happen. All I can do is by best – and I’m not living if I’m not showing up, that would be self-defeating and self-limiting. What’s the worst that could happen? So what if I’m not chosen – but I might be!

BLANK FORMS (Use the below imagery and table examples as a template guide –

A: activating event or situation	B: beliefs and thoughts about the situation	C: consequential feelings and behaviours.
I have to give a presentation.	It will be an absolute disaster, I am going to make a show of myself, I’ll be shaking – everybody will laugh at me! I can’t do it!	Anxious, afraid, can’t stop thinking about it, make an excuse to avoid it…

D: dispute with a rational and logical reframe of your self-talk, clean it up...

I’m doing exaggerated ‘negative predicting‘ – ‘an absolute disaster’ is completely over the top, and will cause me to pump up into threat response mode if I believe it. I mean, an absolute disaster might be a plane crash with no survivors, right? There’s nothing wrong with anticipating and problem solving, but it would obviously be better for me to dial the drama down and be accurate. It’s more true to say that this is a stressor for me, and I’m worried I’ll be visibly anxious ,and that people will judge me negatively.

These are worries and ‘what-ifs’, I have no actual evidence those predictions are rational and evidence based. When I accept these beliefs I am literally visualising a group laughing at me and rejecting me – that’s a bit ridiculous. I will ‘thought stop’, and disagree with and derail these statements as they occur, rather than accepting them and running them over and over in my head.

New self-talk: It would be more accurate to say that I am worried I’ll go into the ‘threat response’ in a high way, and may pump up unhelpfully with adrenaline and oxygen, and I may appear anxious, but I don’t know exactly how it will pan out. It’s different levels at different times. It is more true to say that I may very well be nervous presenting the information,( like 76% of people), and it might be noticeable, but I won’t die – I’ve done it before and it was sometimes uncomfortable, but the sky didn’t fall in.

I will prepare well and do controlled breathing to regulate my body – I will just read from my notes and the screen – and just show up and just do my best… I’m ok, it’s ok. It’s not about ‘me’, it’s about the information I’m sharing. I can’t control what others think of me – and if somebody is judgey that’s their problem, I don’t have to agree with them. I can do it. And the more I do it, the more I’ll adapt to do it more comfortably in the future. Hey it might even be exciting and fun, but that’s not my goal. I don’t have to be funny or fabulous. My goal is to do my best to impart the information as competently as I can. That’s it. No drama.

* take a long four second breath in through the nose, hold for a few beats, then let a long slow breath out through the mouth… and repeat, regulate…

Download the public speaking anxiety table as a PDF HERE

Blank table template:

A: activating event or situation	B: beliefs and thoughts about the situation	C: consequential feelings and behaviours

D: dispute with a more rational and logical reframe based on evidence…

AI paragraph experimental: note from Veronica – I chose the wordpress AI widget to create content from my content in this blog… the below paragraph summaries are the result:

One of the most basic exercises in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is identifying your negative automatic thoughts. These are thoughts that pop into your head almost automatically and can sometimes lead to feelings of anxiety or depression. By catching these thoughts and analyzing them, you can start to break the cycle of negative thinking and learn to reframe your thoughts in a more positive way.

To get started, it’s important to use the ABCDE model. The ABCDE model is a simple tool that helps you to break down your negative thoughts into their basic components. It stands for:

A – Activating event: What happened that triggered your negative thoughts?
B – Belief: What did you think about the event?
C – Consequence: What was the result of your belief?
D – Dispute: Is there evidence that contradicts your belief?
E – Effective alternative: How can you reframe your belief to a more positive thought?

To help you practice the ABCDE model, we’ve created a blank form that you can use to write down your thoughts. This form is available in both PDF and MS Word editable table format. Simply print out the form and fill in the columns. You can also use a regular notebook or journal and create your own columns.

Once you’ve identified your negative automatic thoughts and used the ABCDE model to analyse them, you can start to dispute them. Is there any evidence that contradicts your negative belief? How can you reframe your thoughts to a more positive and effective alternative?

Remember, changing your thoughts is a process and it takes time. But with practice and perseverance, you can learn to catch your negative automatic thoughts and reframe them in a more positive way. Start with this simple exercise and see how it can make a difference in your daily life.

Apologies if your browser messes up fonts and whatnot, you can click to download the old archive PDF version of this post HERE: ABCD_PDF .. – or download the new updated PDF version HERE: The ABC of CBT mini workbook)

Get an A4 journal, turn it sideways, and draft your columns – and/or browse and download the form links below for printing:

– CBT_Handout_ABCD2 – or use these updated ones: PDF form: The ABCD blank thought form model or the MS word editable table template: abcd with dispute box or the simple ABCD-NC example table handout, or the alternative PDF form: abcd blank form