Challenging	Overgeneralization
Perhaps	you’re	recognizing	some	of	your	anxious	thinking	represents
overgeneralization.	Nonetheless,	you	still	can’t	get	the	fear	or	thought
out	of	your	mind.	Start	challenging	those	overgeneralizations.	When	you
hit	a	setback,	ask	yourself	the	following	questions—and	write	your
responses	down,	if	you	can.
1.
	
Can	you	think	of	a	time	in	the	past	when	your	conclusion	has	not
been	true?
2.
	
Can	you	imagine	a	time	or	instance	in	the	future	when	your
conclusion	may	not	be	true?
3.
	
How	probable,	from	0	to	100	percent,	do	you	feel	it	is	that	the
fear	you’re	thinking	about	is	going	to	actually	happen?
4.
	
What	do	you	gain	by	believing	this	thought?	For	example,	do	you
believe	it	keeps	you	safe	in	some	way?
5.
	
What	consequences	may	come	from	believing	this	thought?	For
example,	will	you	give	up	trying	to	get	what	you	desire,	allowing
a	self-fulfilling	prophecy	to	result?
STRATEGY:
	
SPOT	OVERGENERALIZING
As	we’ve	seen,	our	worries	and	catastrophic	thoughts	often	repeat.	We
sometimes	have	new	ones,	but	generally	similar	ones	repeat	over	time	and