Identify the Distortions
Expecting the absolute worst-case scenario to happen, like assuming you'll fail a test before you even take it.
What is Catastrophizing?
This part of the triangle describes physical sensations like a racing heart, a tight chest, or emotional labels like "mad" or "anxious."
What is a Feeling (or Emotion/Physical Sensation)?
Reframe this thought: "I messed up. I can't do anything right."
What is "I made a mistake, but I'm still learning / I can handle this"? (Accept any balanced alternative).
This deep, belly-breathing technique signals the brain's "emergency brake" to slow down a racing heart and calm the nervous system.
What is Deep/Box Breathing?
These are the deep-down, deeply ingrained rules we hold about ourselves, other people, and the world—often formed during childhood.
What are Core Beliefs?
Assuming you know exactly what someone else is thinking about you without any real proof
What is Mind Reading?
These are the split-second phrases, words, or mental images that pop into our heads right after an event happens, which then drive how we feel.
What are Automatic Thoughts?
Reframe this thought: "No one cares about me."
What is "I'm feeling lonely right now, but there are people in my life who support me"?
The practice of tensing up a specific muscle group tightly for 5 seconds and then completely letting it go to release physical anxiety.
What is Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)?
This is the psychological term for a healthy, automatic behavior or routine we use to manage stress, protect our peace, or navigate hard moments.
What is a Coping Mechanism / Coping Skill?
Looking at life in strict black-and-white terms—if you aren't completely perfect, then you are a total failure.
What is All-or-Nothing?
This part of the triangle is the actual action we take in response to our thoughts and feelings, like walking away, shutting down, or using a coping skill.
What is a Behavior?
Reframe this thought: "I shouldn't feel anxious right now, I need to get it together."
What is "It's completely okay and natural that I feel anxious right now; I can take a breath and ride it out"?
Name the grounding technique where you count down from 5 using your senses (5 things you see, 4 you can touch, 3 you hear...).
What is the 5-4-3-2-1 Technique?
Deflection, cracking a joke, or laughing when an emotion feels too heavy or uncomfortable is the brain's way of using humor as a what?
What is a Defense Mechanism?
Focusing exclusively on the one thing that went wrong in your day while completely ignoring everything that went right.
What is Mental Filtering
True or False: CBT teaches us that other people and external situations are what directly cause our emotional pain.
False
This is the specific term for looking at a negative automatic thought and putting it "on trial" by looking at actual facts for and against it.
What is Evidence Testing (or a Thought Record)?
This survival response gets triggered when our brain senses a threat, causing our body to flood with adrenaline, speed up our heart rate, and prepare to fight or run.
What is the Fight or Flight Response?
True or False: The goal of CBT is to completely erase all negative thoughts so that we only think happy, positive thoughts all the time.
False
Blaming yourself entirely for an event or a situation that you actually didn't have full control over.
What is Personalization?
This is the term for when a thought, a feeling, and a behavior lock together and keep feeding into each other, making a hard situation feel worse and worse.
What is a Negative Feedback Loop?
When we replace words like "I have to" or "I should" with "I choose to" or "I can," we are challenging this specific type of rigid thinking trap.
What are "Should" Statements?
This is the physical location in the body where people most frequently report feeling the heavy, suffocating sensation of grief or extreme anxiety.
What is the Chest (or Throat/Stomach)?
This is the term for a temporary mental state where the brain completely numbs out or disconnects from intense emotions to keep from becoming totally overwhelmed.
What is Emotional Blunting / Detachment?