Thought Reframing Worksheet

The Goal: To move from "Automatic Negative Thoughts" (ANTs) to a balanced, evidence-based perspective. This process doesn't involve "positive thinking," but rather accurate thinking.

Common Cognitive Distortions

All-or-Nothing: Seeing things in black and white (e.g., "If I'm not perfect, I'm a failure").

Catastrophizing: Expecting the worst-case scenario to happen.

Mind Reading: Assuming you know what others are thinking about you.

Emotional Reasoning: "I feel anxious, therefore I must be in danger."

Overgeneralizing: Taking one negative event and seeing it as a never-ending pattern.

"Should" Statements: Using "should" or "must" to create unrealistic guilt or pressure.

Reframing Example:

Trigger: Boss didn't reply to my email for 2 days.

Automatic Thought: "They're unhappy with my work and I'm going to get fired." (Catastrophizing/Mind Reading)

Evidence Check:
For: Email is unanswered.
Against: My last performance review was great; the boss is currently traveling; they are often slow with email.

Balanced Reframe: "My boss is likely busy or traveling. There is no evidence that my job is at risk, and a slow email response is common for them."

1. The Trigger	2. Automatic Thought	3. Evidence Check	4. The Reframe
What happened? (Who, what, where)	What is the inner critic saying? (The "ANT")	Evidence FOR and AGAINST this thought. Is it a fact or a feeling?	A balanced statement based on the evidence.