Mind Reading: Why You Assume You Know What Others Think
You are certain they judged you, found you boring, or were annoyed. But you cannot actually read minds, and your anxiety is a terrible guesser.
Category
CBT Tools
Emotional Reasoning: When Feelings Masquerade as Facts
I feel like a failure, so I must be one. I feel anxious, so something must be wrong. Emotional reasoning is one of the sneakiest thinking traps. Here is ho...
The Downward Arrow: Finding the Belief Under the Worry
Small surface worries often trace down to one deep belief. The downward arrow is a simple technique for finding that root, which is where real change happe...
What Is a Thought Record and How to Use One
A thought record is the single most useful tool in cognitive behavioral therapy. Here is what it is, why writing beats thinking, and how to fill one in.
How to Reframe a Negative Thought Without Toxic Positivity
Reframing is not slapping a happy spin on a hard thought. Done right, it is more honest than the anxious version, not less. Here is the difference.
All-or-Nothing Thinking: How to Find the Gray
If it was not perfect it was a disaster. All-or-nothing thinking erases the middle where real life happens. Here is how to find the gray again.
Cognitive Distortions: A Plain-English Guide
The anxious mind makes the same handful of thinking errors over and over. Learn their names, and they lose a lot of their power to fool you.
How to Keep a Worry Journal That Actually Helps
A worry journal can help, but a vague diary of dread can make things worse. Here is how to keep one that reduces worry instead of rehearsing it.
Thoughts Are Not Facts: What Cognitive Defusion Means
One idea underpins almost every tool for quieting overthinking: a thought is a mental event, not a truth. Here is what that means and how to use it.
Should Statements: How Your Own Rules Create Guilt
I should be over this. I shouldn't feel anxious. Should statements pose as standards but function as whips. Here is how to loosen their grip.
Catch, Challenge, Reframe: A Simple Way to Question Thoughts
Three steps that turn an anxious thought from an unquestioned command into something you can examine and answer. This is the everyday core of CBT.
What Is CBT and Why It Helps With Overthinking
Cognitive behavioral therapy is the approach with the strongest evidence for worry and rumination. Here is what it actually is, in plain language.