O
BJECTIVE
:
This Thought Diary aims to help you
analyze your thinking and challenge
unhelpful thoughts.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Begin with section A:
Write about an event or situation in which you
felt distressed or upset. Record the situation
in the same way that a video camera might
record it simply the facts.
Then go to section C:
Write down the words that best describe your
feelings. Choose one that best describes how
you feel in this situation. Underline this word
& rate the intensity of the emotion from 0 to
100. When you have finished, also write down
any actions you may have carried out.
Now complete section B:
List all the thoughts, beliefs, values, attitudes, and
expectations you had about “A” that caused the
feelings and actions in “C.” Use the automatic
thought discovery questions available. Find the
“Hot thought”, the thought that best relates to
the emotion you underlined in “C”. Rate how
much you believe this statement on a scale from 0
to 100.
Turn to section D, the section in which you
concentrate on change and coping. Go
through the disputation questions.
Finally, complete section E: Balanced
Thinking and re-rate your previous thought and
feeling.
Thought
Diary 2
Name:
Day & Date:
M
OOD MANAGEMENT COURSE
COMPLETE THIS SECTION LAST
E Evaluation: Balanced Thought
After looking at all the evidence for and against
your hot thought, and having considered the
disputation questions, replace the hot thought
with helpful, balanced thought/s.
Re-rate Emotion: re-rate the emotion you
underlined in C, from 0 to 100:
Re-rate Hot Thought: re-rate how much you
believe the hot thought, between 0 to 100:
Psychotherapy
Research
Training
C
C
I
entre for
nterventions
A
Activating Event
This may be either: An actual event or situation,
a thought, mental picture or recollection.
Beliefs
1.
List all statements that link A to C. Ask yourself:
“What was I thinking?” “What was I saying to
myself?” “What was going through my head at the
time?”
2.
Find the most distressing (hot) thought and underline
it
3.
Rate how much you believe this thought between 0 to
100.
Disputation
1.
Check the evidence
Factual evidence FOR my hot thought:
C
Consequences
1. Write down words describing how you feel.
2. Underline the one that is most associated with
the activating event.
3. Rate the intensity of that feeling (0 to 100).
4. Jot down any physical sensations you experienced
or actions carried out.
Factual evidence AGAINST my hot thought:
2. Challenge unhelpful thinking styles
Answer the disputation questions that apply to the
unhelpful thinking styles you’ve ticked.
Unhelpful Thinking Styles:
Mental Filter
Jumping to Conclusions
(Mind reading/emotional reasoning)
Personalisation
Catastrophising
All or Nothing
Shoulding & Musting
Labelling
Overgeneralisation
Disqualifying/Ignoring positives
3. Change my perspective
What are other ways of viewing the situation? What
would you say to someone you care about? To change
how you act, how would you need to think differently?