The Shyness & Social Anxiety Workbook
188USING EXPOSURE RECORDS AND DIARIES
Keeping good records during exposure practices will help you to monitor your progress 
over time. The Exposure Monitoring Form at the end of this chapter is an example of a 
diary that can be used to record your experiences during exposure practices. In addition, 
this form is designed to help you challenge your anxious thoughts during exposure prac -
tices. Note that although the Exposure Monitoring Form may seem somewhat complex 
at ﬁrst, with practice it will become easier to complete.
At the top of the form, you should describe the particular situation that you’re 
practicing; the date, time, and duration of the practice; and your fear level before and 
after the practice (use a 0- to 100-point scale, where 0 = no fear and 100 = maximum 
fear). The middle part of the form is used for testing the validity of your fearful beliefs 
and predictions regarding the exposure practice. The ﬁrst three columns are completed 
before the practice, and the last column is completed after the practice.
In the ﬁrst column, record your emotional response to the upcoming practice 
(responses like fear or nervousness). The second and third columns are used for record -
ing your fearful beliefs and predictions, as well as the evidence regarding the validity 
of these predictions. (Chapter 6 has many examples of possible fearful beliefs as well 
as instructions on how to evaluate the evidence concerning these thoughts.) After the 
practice is completed, record the outcome of the practice (what actually happened), any 
new evidence generated by the practice, and what you learned about the accuracy of 
your original anxiety-provoking thoughts and predictions.
In the lower part of the form, there is space to record your fear level periodically