Our anxious thoughts can trick us into assuming the worst. When we assume that something bad is going to happen, it can stop us from having new and enjoyable experiences. It can also stop us from doing things we need to do in our daily lives. These thoughts are extremely unhelpful and unpleasant, and they are the result of something called thinking errors. There are two types of thinking errors that generally cause anxiety: (View as PDF)
As you complete the exposure activities in your plan of action, it may be helpful for you to view them as an experiment. Try using exposure activities to test your anxious thoughts and find out if your thoughts were right or wrong.
For instance, Sophia thinks that she will embarrass herself if she tries to make new friends. Instead of believing this anxious thought right away, she puts it to the test to see what will really happen when she tries to make a friend.
Keeping track of your activities in your Activity Log may also help you gain a different perspective. You may find that an activity you were really anxious to complete ended up not being too difficult. You may even find that tasks you thought would end poorly had good outcomes.
As you fill out your Activity Log this week, focus on the last column: “Did I learn anything new?”. By filling out this last column you are putting your anxious thoughts to the test and challenging your old perspectives.
Look back at George’s Activity Log as an example (View as PDF). You will see that most of the time, his exposure activities go better than he thinks they will. Exposure activities will not always work out perfectly and many of them will be very challenging. But you should remember to be proud of yourself and keep up the hard work.
Whenever you complete an activity this week, remember to reflect on how your practice went and what you learned from it in the last column of the Activity Log. If you feel stuck, you can use the reflection questions below to help you reflect on your exposure activity practice. (View as PDF)
