Identifying & Challenging NAITs
Negative Automatic Irrational Thoughts — learn to spot them, understand the patterns behind them, and replace them with balanced, rational thinking.
What are NAITs?
Negative Automatic Irrational Thoughts (NAITs) are thoughts that pop into your mind automatically, without you choosing them. They tend to be negative and pessimistic, and feel completely true in the moment — even when they aren't based on evidence.
NAITs often involve thinking distortions — habitual patterns of irrational thinking that distort how we see events, ourselves, and other people. The more we notice and challenge these thoughts, the less power they have over our mood and behaviour. This worksheet walks you through the process step by step.
The 6-Stage Process (adapted from Wycherley, 1988)
- Stage 1: Note the upsetting event
- Stage 2: List your irrational thoughts about the event
- Stage 3: Identify which thinking distortions you are making — and any underlying irrational belief
- Stage 4: Note your disturbed feelings and how these thoughts affect your behaviour
- Stage 5: Challenge and argue against your irrational thoughts
- Stage 6: Note the differences in your feelings and behaviour once you've challenged the thoughts
"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response."
— Viktor Frankl
— Viktor Frankl
1
Stage 1 — The Upsetting Event
2
Stage 2 — My Thoughts About the Event
70%
0% — Don't believe50% — Unsure100% — Completely certain
3
Stage 3 — Identify the Thinking Distortions
✓
Black or white thinking
Seeing things in absolutes — all good or all bad, with no middle ground
✓
Awfulising / Catastrophising
Making mountains out of molehills — imagining the worst outcome as likely or certain
✓
Personalising
Blaming yourself for things that may have little or nothing to do with you
✓
Negative focus
Focusing only on the negatives while ignoring or dismissing the positives
✓
Fortune telling / Jumping to conclusions
Predicting negative outcomes, or assuming you know what others think, without real evidence
✓
Demands / Living by fixed rules
Rigid 'should', 'must', 'ought' and 'can't' rules that create unrealistic expectations
✓
Labelling
Attaching a fixed, harsh label to yourself or others — 'I'm a failure', 'They're hopeless'
✓
Emotional reasoning
Treating feelings as facts — 'I feel stupid, therefore I must be stupid'
✓
Low frustration tolerance
Telling yourself you 'can't stand' or 'can't cope' — making difficulties feel intolerable
No distortions selected yet
Common underlying irrational beliefs (Ellis, adapted) — do any of these feel familiar?
- I must be liked or accepted by every important person in my life for almost everything I do.
- I must be successful, competent and achieving in everything I do to consider myself worthwhile.
- It is awful and terrible when things are not the way I would like them to be.
- I must feel anxious, upset and preoccupied if something is, or may be, dangerous.
- My unhappiness is caused by events outside my control — I have little ability to influence how I feel.
- It is easier to avoid facing life's difficulties and responsibilities than to face them.
- My past has permanently shaped who I am and cannot be changed.
- When people act badly or unfairly, they are completely bad and deserve to be blamed.
- I can achieve maximum happiness through inaction and passively enjoying myself.
- I need someone stronger than myself on whom I can depend.
4
Stage 4 — My Feelings & Behaviour
60
0 — Calm50 — Moderate100 — Extreme distress
5
Stage 5 — Challenge Your Thinking
Use these questions to work through each irrational thought:
- Is this thought based on fact, or on how I feel?
- What evidence is there for — and against — this thought?
- Am I applying a thinking distortion here?
- Am I seeing the full picture, or only focusing on the negatives?
- What are the realistic odds that the worst will actually happen?
- Even if the worst did happen, could I cope with it?
- Is there a more rational or balanced way to see this situation?
6
Stage 6 — My Rational Response & New Feelings
Before & After — Your Ratings
Belief in original thought (before)
70%
Belief in original thought (after)
—
Distress level (before)
60 / 100
Distress level (after)
—
50%
0% — No longer believe it50% — Partially100% — Still certain
40
0 — Calm50 — Moderate100 — Extreme distress
7
Reflection
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