Generally speaking, we live our lives automatically, without thinking too much about our own thinking course, how we react to our feelings and what makes us behave in the way we do. However, in order to overcome our psychological problems, it is important to be aware of this automatic process (Podina et al., 2019). 

The following diary will encourage you to take a few steps back and observe how you automatically act and why you do so, encouraging some self-reflection. See the example we presented here and try to come up with examples where you yourself engaged in such automatic processes. 

Cbt thoughts feelings behaviors worksheet

TimeDateTrigger situation	Thoughts, e.g. “They must hate me”	Emotion, e.g. “anxiety, anger, shame, disgust”	Behavior, e.g. “avoid situation”
3 PMOctober 12Disagreement with my boss about a project	“He is never listening to what I have to say, only listens to the coworkers he favors. He must think I’m a coward and a fool.”	anger, disgust, disappointment	Accuse him of favoring my coworkers and think of a way to get back at my colleagues. Agonize over for a few days until I start to feel guilty about how I reacted.

You can download this worksheet here.