Smart vs. Survival Brain
You're walking home, and a dog suddenly starts barking loudly at you from behind a fence.
What is the survival brain?
What is one deep breathing technique you can use to calm down when feeling stressed?
What is belly breathing, box breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, blowing out a candle, etc.?
Identify whether this is a thought or a feeling: "I am so dumb for failing that test."
What is a thought?
This thinking trap happens when you believe the worst will happen, even if you don’t know for sure.
A) Catastrophizing
B) Overgeneralization
What is catastrophizing?
If you feel upset, who is one safe person at school you can talk to?
Who is a trusted adult?
You have a math test tomorrow, and you keep thinking, "I’ll never pass this. I should just give up now."
What is the survival brain?
What is something you can do if you're feeling overwhelmed while working on a big assignment?
Break it into smaller steps, take a short break, do a mindfulness activity to refocus...
This part of the CBT Triangle is what you experience in your body, like sadness or happiness.
What are feelings?
If someone thinks, "Nobody likes me because one person didn’t say hi," what thinking trap are they using?
A) Mind Reading
B) All-or-Nothing Thinking
What is mind reading?
What is one coping skill you can use to calm down when you’re feeling stressed?
What is a coping skill of your choosing?
Your teacher calls on you unexpectedly to answer a question, and you take a deep breath before responding.
What is the smart brain?
When you're feeling angry, what physical activity could help you release your emotions in a healthy way?
Go for a walk, punch a pillow, or do a workout.
If someone thinks, "Nobody likes me," what feeling might go along with that thought?
What is sadness (or loneliness, rejection, etc.)?
This thinking trap involves using words like 'always' or 'never,' even when it’s not completely true.
A) Catastrophizing
B) All-or-Nothing Thinking
What is all-or-nothing thinking?
What is a worry monster, and how can it help us deal with anxious thoughts?
A worry monster is a visual tool we created to help us recognize and manage anxious thoughts. By naming or visualizing the worry monster, we can externalize our worries, making it easier to address them and prevent them from feeling overwhelming. It helps separate the worry from ourselves, making it more manageable.
You’re walking to school and realize you left your homework at home. You think, “It’s not the end of the world; I can explain to my teacher.”
What is the Smart Brain?
What is one coping strategy that you can use in class when feeling overwhelmed?
Box breathing, take a break, visualization, body scan...
Is this a thought or a feeling: "I feel like everyone is mad at me"?
Thought (It’s phrased as a feeling but is actually a thought because it makes an assumption about others.)
When someone focuses only on the one mistake they made and ignores everything they did well, what thinking trap is this?
A) Discounting the Positive
B) Overgeneralization
What is discounting the positive?
How can identifying the physical place where you feel anxiety in your body help you manage it?
By noticing where you feel tension or discomfort, you can work to release that tension and calm your body, which can help reduce your overall anxiety (or other negative feeling).
A group of classmates laughs when you walk into the cafeteria. You immediately think, “They’re all making fun of me,” and want to leave.
What is the Survival Brain? (Explanation: This is an emotional reaction driven by self-protection. The smart brain would pause to consider other possibilities (e.g., they might not be laughing at you)
When you’re stuck in a negative thought, using this strategy can help you challenge it by finding evidence against it or reframing the situation.
What is changing your thought or cognitive restructuring?
These are the three parts of the CBT Triangle
What are thoughts, feelings, and actions?
If a student fails one quiz and thinks, "I’m bad at school," what thinking trap might they be using?
A) Overgeneralization
B) Mind Reading
What is overgeneralization?
Why is it important to recognize that your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all connected, and how can this awareness help you?
Recognizing that your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all connected is important because it helps you understand how one aspect can influence the others. This awareness empowers you to make more intentional choices, such as changing your thoughts or calming down your body with heightened feelings, which influences the other parts of the triangle.