brought
	
to	mind	the	thought	of	a	white	bear	more	than	once	per	minute.
When	we	suppress	thoughts,	we	essentially	tell	ourselves	to	“stop	thinking
about	that!”	The	mind	then	monitors	itself	for	each	time	it	does	think	about
“that”	and	then	brings	“that”	to	our	conscious	awareness.	Instead	of
criticizing	yourself	to	stop	thinking	or	worrying	about	this	or	that,	consider
challenging	the	thoughts	that	bring	on	anxiety.
STRATEGY:	REPLACE	NEGATIVE	THOUGHTS
When	you	have	a	thought	that	keeps	repeating	in	your	internal	narrative,	pull
out	this	thought	record.
1.
	
What	triggered	the	thought?	What	were	you	doing	or	imagining	when
the	thought	occurred	to	you?
Example:
	
Considering	an	invitation	to	a	neighborhood	potluck.
2.
	
What	is	the	thought(s)	that	accompanies	this	trigger?
Example:
	
“No	one	will	talk	to	me.”	“I’ll	feel	like	an	outsider.”	“I’ll	feel
insecure.”
3.
	
Label	the	emotion(s)	you	feel	when	you	have	these	thoughts	and	the
intensity	of	each	
emotion
	
on	a	scale	of	1	(less	intensity)	to	10	(extreme
intensity).
Example:
	
“Inadequate:	5,	weak:	6,	anxious:	9,	dread:	9.”
4.