How I Use A CBT Thought Record + Free PDF Worksheet

I tried a thought record for the first time in CBT group therapy for depression. It helps change your thinking patterns to stop overthinking about something you think or feel happened and instead look at the facts.

Recently my therapist brought up doing some alternative thoughts exercises for a recent situation where I assumed I did something wrong.

Do you ever pick up micro mannerisms or expressions from people and instantly know something shifted? You get the sense something isn’t 100% right?

My intuitive spidey senses usually pick up on people’s emotions quickly.

This can be good as it enables you to have empathy for others, but it can also get the mind spiralling, assuming the worst. 

Before you know it negative thoughts and rumination can kick in.

This is where a thought record can help.

What Exactly Is a CBT Thought Record?

Firstly, CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and is a common therapy approach for a number of mental health issues including depression, anxiety, PTSD and more.

The practice of CBT looks at the connection between your thoughts, feelings and actions/behaviours. 

These are all connected, so when you’re able to improve one of these 3 areas the others are also positively impacted.

In CBT there are a number of tools to actively enable you to address situations in your life so you can move through them and train your brain to acknowledge when something actually took place vs. something you think took place.

One of these tools is a thought record.

A thought record is a CBT worksheet designed to help you:

• Identify a situation where you have a negative thought attached
• Look for evidence on whether that thought is accurate or not
• Seek out possible alternative thoughts to the situation
• Record how you felt (your mood) before completing the thought record and after.

As mentioned earlier, I was first introduced to using a thought record a number of years ago when I was doing group therapy.

The psychologist explained that the process of looking at your thoughts head on actually helps see things in a different light.

In many cases us humans can blow things out of proportion and even more so if we’re dealing with depression or anxiety. This leads to unhelpful thought patterns that can truly play on our emotions.

So, a thought record helps to look at the situation and feeling to understand if it’s actually something worth worrying about.

Sometimes there is an actual concern to deal with, but often once you move through the process of completing thought records you’ll find that you can deal with the feeling right there and it’s not something you need to keep ruminating on.

1. Provide details about the situation 

What was the situation? Where were you, who were you with and what were you doing?

2. Rate your mood in that situation

Describe the moods you felt in one word. Rate the intensity of the mood from 0 to 100%

3. What was your automatic thought? 

What were your automatic thoughts before/during/after the situation? Did you make assumptions? What does this say about you?

4. Evidence that supports that ‘hot’ negative thought 

Focus on the main thought in the automatic thoughts section (3 above) Circle it on your worksheet.

Now, call out specific evidence that this thought is true. 

Think about the facts, not assumptions.

5. Evidence that does not support the ‘hot’ thought

What evidence do you have that does not support your hot thought? Look at the facts, not how you think things are, but the way they actually are.

6. What are some alternative, more balanced thoughts? 

Write an alternative thought based on the evidence. How can you think differently about this situation? Is it possible that something else could be going on? What advice would you give someone else in this situation?

7. Rate your moods again

Look at the original feelings/mood from the 2nd column of the worksheet and re-rate the intensity of each feeling from 0 to 100%

What Thought Records Can Help With

Overall, using a thought record helps you work through difficult feelings and responses in times of distress. 

Essentially using thought records help you:

• Be aware of your automatic unhelpful thoughts so you can determine if they are true or not
• Change how you feel and think about a perceived difficult situation
• Identify persistent problems, thoughts and beliefs that tend to pop up
• Reduce emotional distress that can lead to depression and anxiety
• Eventually reshape how you respond to situations making this thinking process second nature

Thought Record Examples

Below are two scenarios to represent how you might complete a thought record. 

After downloading your thought record worksheet below, you can refer to these examples if it helps you complete each section.

Example 1

1. Situation: My friend always says no to going for a walk
2. Mood: Frustrated 80%, Annoyed 80%, Fed Up, 80%, Sad 70%
3. Automatic thought: I don’t want it to be like this forever. She doesn’t put in the effort. She doesn’t like quality time with me. She can’t be bothered.
4. Evidence that supports hot thought: She always says no. She rarely wants to spend time together. She’s moody and gets angry often.
5. Evidence that does not support hot thought: She smiles when she talks to me. She likes to watch movies with me. He enjoys talking to me about her interests.
6. Alternative/balanced thought: She seems really stressed these days and may even be depressed. She’s tired a lot and I don’t think this is intentional.
7. Rate moods again: Frustrated 30%, Annoyed 20%, Fed Up, 10%, Sad 60%

Example 2

1. Situation: I set a goal to lose weight and I can’t stick to my plan. I have no willpower or energy.
2. Mood: Guilty 90%, Frustrated 70%
3. Automatic thought: I have no control. I am a disappointment to myself. I am no longer confident. I am unattractive.
4. Evidence that supports hot thought: I haven’t been a healthy weight in 3 years. I constantly cheat with bad food. I can’t follow through on a plan. I no longer recognize myself – I’ve become introverted and have social fears.
5. Evidence that does not support hot thought: I eat healthy 95% of the time.
6. Alternative/balanced thought: My depression is affecting my focus so I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. I must learn to celebrate small wins.
7. Rate mood again: Guilt 50%, Frustrated 50%

Note: As you can see from the examples above there is still emotional distress at the end of the exercises, however it has been reduced in both scenarios. A thought record helps you see the reality of a situation easier – it won’t always fix it, but it helps you cope.

More Mental Health Resources To Support You:

• Weekly & Yearly Mood Trackers (Free Printable)
• We Become What We Think + 3 Positive Thinking Techniques
• 5 Tips To Stop Ruminating Thoughts
• How To Stop Thinking About The Past: 7 Tips That Help

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