Thought Record
Use this worksheet to examine your thoughts in the moment, spot thinking distortions, and build more helpful, balanced ways of seeing the situation.
How to use this worksheet
When we're distressed, our thoughts can feel like absolute facts — but they're often filtered through unhelpful patterns. This worksheet walks you through the full thought record process: from noticing the situation that triggered distress, to identifying the thoughts that followed, spotting any thinking distortions, and arriving at more helpful alternatives.
Use it soon after a difficult situation, while the feelings and thoughts are still fresh. Completing it regularly helps your brain learn new patterns over time.
Situation
→
Thoughts
→
Distortions
→
Helpful Thoughts
→
New Feelings & Action
1
The Situation
2
Your Initial Feelings & Behaviour
50
0 — Calm50 — Moderate distress100 — Overwhelmed
3
Thoughts About That Event
What went through your mind at the time? Write down all of your thoughts, including images or memories that came up. Don't filter or judge — just record them as they were.
4
Thinking Distortions
Thinking distortions are patterns our minds fall into that make situations feel worse than they are. Tick any that apply to the thoughts you recorded above.
✓
All-or-nothing thinking
Seeing things in black and white, with no middle ground
✓
Catastrophising
Imagining the worst possible outcome
✓
Mind reading
Assuming you know what others are thinking
✓
Fortune telling
Predicting a negative outcome as though it's certain
✓
Emotional reasoning
"I feel it, so it must be true"
✓
Overgeneralising
One negative event becomes an endless pattern
✓
Mental filtering
Focusing only on negatives, ignoring the positives
✓
Personalisation
Blaming yourself for things outside your control
✓
Should statements
Rigid rules about how you or others "must" behave
✓
Labelling
Attaching a harsh fixed label to yourself or others
✓
Magnification / minimisation
Blowing the bad out of proportion, shrinking the good
✓
Jumping to conclusions
Drawing negative conclusions without evidence
5
More Helpful Thoughts
Now challenge the distorted thoughts. What would be a more balanced, realistic way to see the situation? You don't have to force positivity — just aim for fairer.
6
Unhelpful Underlying Beliefs
What to look for:
Underlying beliefs often sound like rules: "I should always have the right answer", "If I show weakness, people will lose respect for me", "I ought to be able to cope without help", "Unless I'm perfect, I've failed." These deeper rules drive the surface thoughts.
7
New Feelings & Action
Distress level — before & after
Distress (before)
50 / 100
Distress (after)
—
50
0 — Calm50 — Moderate distress100 — Overwhelmed
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