Thought Investigation / Thought Challenge Worksheets

Adapted from "I'm not supposed to feel like this" by Chris Williams, Ingrid Whitton and Paul Richards.

Acknowledgement: These worksheets are taken from Chris Williams's book Overcoming Depression and its "Christian version" I'm not supposed to feel like this by Chris Williams, Ingrid Whitton and Paul Richards. A paper which describes their use may be found at Advances in Psychiatric Treatment (2002) 8: 377-386.

These sheets are to be filled in when you notice your mood dropping. More detailed notes on how to fill in each column are at the bottom of the page. For printing purposes you may prefer a PDF version.

Thought Investigation Worksheet

THOUGHT INVESTIGATION
1. SITUATION, RELATIONSHIP OR PRACTICAL PROBLEM	2. EMOTIONAL & PHYSICAL FEELINGS	3. IMMEDIATE THOUGHTS	4. UNHELPFUL THINKING STYLES	5. IMPACT OF THE THOUGHT
When? Where? Who? What?	Underline and rate (%) main one.	About self vs. God, others, situation, future. Any memories or images. Underline and rate (%) main one.	Choose from list: Bias against self Negative slant Catastrophising Bearing all responsibility Mind reading Extreme rules	What I did or said or felt as a result. Effect on relationship with God and others. Helpful or not?

Thought Challenge Worksheet

THOUGHT CHALLENGE
6. EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THE IMMEDIATE THOUGHT	7. EVIDENCE AGAINST THE IMMEDIATE THOUGHT	8. BALANCED CONCLUSION	9. PLAN TO PUT CONCLUSION INTO PRACTICE
	Views of others, non-depressed self, me to others, Jesus.	Balanced, truthful and helpful. Rate belief & re-rate original negative thought (%).	Set up a test? Act against the negative thought to reinforce the balanced conclusion.

Thought Investigation Sheet Notes

1. SITUATION, RELATIONSHIP OR PRACTICAL PROBLEM WHEN MOOD ALTERED
   Where am I, what am I doing? Consider:
   • The time: What time of day is it?
   • The place: Where am I?
   • The people: Who is present? Who am I with?
   • The events: What has been said? What events have happened?
2. ALTERED EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL FEELINGS
   Am I:
   • Low or sad? Guilty?
   • Worried, tense, anxious or panicky?
   • Angry or irritable?
   • Ashamed?
   1. State the feelings clearly. Try to be as precise as possible. If more than one feeling occurs, underline the most powerful feeling.
   2. How powerful is this feeling? Rate from 0--100%
   3. Note down any strong physical sensations you notice.
3. IMMEDIATE THOUGHTS PRESENT AT THE TIME
   What is going through my mind? How do I see:
   • Myself, my relationship with God, how others see me?
   • The current events/situation?
   • What might happen in the future?
   • My own body, behaviour or performance?
   • Any memories/images?
   1. State the thought(s) clearly. Try to be as precise as possible. If more than one thought occurs, underline the most powerful thought.
   2. Rate from 0--100% how strongly you believe the most powerful thought at the time.
4. UNHELPFUL THINKING STYLES
   1. Bias against myself
   2. Putting a negative slant on things (Negative mental filter).
   3. Having a gloomy view of the future/jumping to the worst conclusion/catastrophic thinking.
   4. Negative views about how others see me (Mind-reading).
   5. Bearing all responsibility.
   6. Making extreme statements/rules e.g. using ‘must’, ‘should’, ‘ought’, ‘always’, ‘got to’, ‘typical’ and ‘never’ statements.
   If any of the styles are present, you have identified an extreme thought.
5. IMPACT OF THE IMMEDIATE THOUGHT
   1. What did I do differently? Consider any:
      • Reduced activity
      • Unhelpful behaviours
   2. What was the impact on:
      • Myself?
      • My relationship with God?
      • My view of others?
      • How I felt?
      • What I said?
      • What I did?
      • Overall, was the impact helpful or unhelpful?
      If there is an unhelpful impact, you have identified an unhelpful thought.

6. Thought Challenge Sheet Notes

7. REASONS SUPPORTING THE IMMEDIATE THOUGHT
   List all the reasons why I believed the immediate thought at the time.
8. REASONS AGAINST THE IMMEDIATE THOUGHT
   Answer the following questions:
   • What would Jesus say to me about how he see this thought? How would he encourage me?
   • Are there any other ways of explaining the situation that are more accurate? Is there anything to make me think the thought is incorrect?
   • If I wasn't feeling anxious/depressed, what would I say?
   • What would I tell a Christian friend who said the same thing?
   • What helpful things would other people say to me about it?
   • Have I heard different opinions from others about the thought?
9. COME TO A BALANCED CONCLUSION
   Use the answers from 6 and 7 to come up with a balanced, truthful and helpful conclusion. Look for a balanced conclusion that you can believe. This should be based on all the information you have available to you and bear in mind the reason for and against believing the immediate thought.
10. PLAN FOR PUTTING THE BALANCED CONCLUSION INTO PRACTICE
    • How can I change what I do to reinforce my balanced conclusion?
    • How can I undermine my immediate negative thought by acting against it?
    One possibility is to “set up a test” to see if it is true, and if the thought is false.