you did think of it; (d) you refused to do it when you thought of it; or (e) you were willful and rejected doing it, or some other behavior, thoughts, or emotions interfered with doing it. If (a) or (b) is the case, skip from here to Step 6 below (working on solutions). Otherwise, keep going from here.
2. Describe the specific promp TinG evenT  that started the whole chain of behavior. Begin 
with the environmental event that started the chain. Always begin with some event in your 
environment, even if it doesn’t seem to you that the environmental event “caused” the problem 
behavior. Otherwise, we could ask about any behavior, thought, feeling, or experience, “What prompted that?” Possible questions to help you get at this are:
A. What exact event precipitated the start of the chain reaction?
B. When did the sequence of events that led to the problem behavior begin? When did the 
problem start?
C. What was going on right before the thought of or impulse for the problem behavior occurred?
D. What were you doing/thinking/feeling/imagining at that time?
E. Why did the problem behavior happen on that day instead of the day before?
3. Describe specific vulnera BiliTy fac TorS happening before the prompting event. 
What factors or events made you more vulnerable to reacting to the prompting event with a 
problematic chain? Areas to examine are:
A. Physical illness; unbalanced eating or sleeping; injury.
B. Use of drugs or alcohol; misuse of prescription drugs.
C. Stressful events in the environment (either positive or negative).
D. Intense emotions, such as sadness, anger, fear, loneliness.
E. Previous behaviors of your own that you found stressful coming into your mind.