CBT Worksheet
Automatic Thoughts Log
Track your automatic thoughts as they arise — and begin to understand the link between situations, thoughts, feelings, and behaviour.
📝
Capture Thoughts
Record automatic thoughts in the moment, before they fade or become distorted
🔍
Spot the Triggers
Identify the situations and events that set off unhelpful thinking patterns
💭
Notice Emotions
Connect your thoughts to the physical sensations and feelings they create
📊
Build Awareness
Over time, spot recurring patterns in your thinking and how you respond to them
How to use this worksheet
Work through each section in order, starting with the situation. Be as specific as you can — the more detail you capture, the more useful this log will be. Try to complete it as close to the event as possible, while the memory is still fresh. You can use this log for a single entry or return to fill in a new one whenever something comes up.
1
Date & Time
Note when this happened. Recording the date and time helps you track patterns over days and weeks.
↓
2
Situation
Who? What happened? When? Where?
Describe the situation factually — just the observable events, not your interpretation of them.
Prompts
Where were you? Who were you with? What were you doing? What happened just before the thought appeared?
↓
3
Automatic Thought
What went through your mind? What were you thinking?
Write down the exact thought(s) that came into your mind — try to capture them word for word, as they occurred.
Prompts
What did that situation mean to you? What did you say to yourself? What did you imagine might happen? Was there an image or memory that came up?
↓
4
Emotions & Physical Sensations
Note any physical sensations and emotional reactions. How strong were those feelings? (0–100%)
Separate the emotion from the thought. Name what you felt in your body and how intense each feeling was on a scale of 0 to 100%.
Prompts
Did you notice tension, tightness, or discomfort anywhere? Were you anxious, sad, ashamed, angry, or embarrassed? How overwhelming did it feel in the moment?
↓
5
Behaviour Response
What did you do to manage the situation or your feelings?
Describe what you actually did in response — including anything you avoided doing. Avoidance is a behaviour too.
Prompts
Did you withdraw, go quiet, or leave? Did you seek reassurance? Did you distract yourself? Did you avoid something as a result of the thought?
🌿 Remember: Automatic thoughts arise quickly and feel like facts — but they are not. The simple act of writing them down creates distance between you and the thought, and that distance is where change begins.
Where should we send your worksheet?
We'll email you a PDF copy of your completed Automatic Thoughts Log.
Your answers are only used to generate your PDF.