College Student Anxiety Group Worksheets
Worksheet 1: Healthy Anxiety Thought Record
Situation
What was happening?
Who with?
Where?
When?
What were you doing?
Trigger for Anxiety about Health
Physical symptoms?
Thoughts?
Hearing about illness?
Emotion(s)
Note type of emotion (sad, anxious, angry, etc)
Rate intensity of emotion (0-100%)
Unhelpful thoughts or images
Write most unhelpful thought or image
How much do you believe that thought (0-100%)?
Response to thought
What did you do?
What would be a more rational and more balanced perspective?
Is there another way of looking at this?
How much do you believe this different perspective (0-100%)?
Outcome
Describe emotion (one word)
Rate intensity of emotion (0-100%)
What was helpful?
Worksheet 2: Goal Orientation
These are two issues that are holding me back from enjoying my life to the fullest right now:
1.
2.
Here are two actions I can take to change my life for the better right now:
1.
2.
Worksheet 3: Problematic Ways of Thinking
What is problematic thinking?
Problematic thinking is the thought process and things such as negative automatic thoughts and thought traps. With anxiety, non-effective thinking can affect us, and even make us feel worse. When you experience problematic thinking, positive and realistic thinking really can automatically help improve your frame of mind.
Cognitive Distortions
A cognitive distortion is an exaggerated and often irrational automatic thought. And it’s mighty, having the power to generate chronic depression and anxiety.
Overgeneralization
Overgeneralization is making a knee-jerk generalization based upon ultra-poor quality evidence. We must learn that we can’t judge all situations based upon a particular set of past circumstances.
Disqualifying the Positive
This is also known as all-or-nothing thinking. And just as the name implies, any positives of a set of circumstances are left behind in its presence. The sole focus is upon the negative.
Consider this example:
My friends, even my therapist, say that I’m doing so much better. Baloney! All I know is I’m completely anxious and depressed, and that’s just the way it is.
Notice how quickly and smoothly the positive was tossed aside. And do you see how the negative was reinforced? And not only did she have no rational evidence upon which to base her assessment and statement, she had strong evidence to the contrary! In her current mode of thought creation and maintenance, do you think there’s a chance of reasoning with her?
Tossing Overgeneralizations Aside
Using something known as cognitive restructuring is one of the best weapons in destroying overgeneralization. Work needs to be done on your methods of thinking. Once you’ve gained the insight into what you’re doing wrong, you’re ready to fix it. And then it’s on to learning how to cognitively restructure – and practice, practice, practice.
Trigger
What specific situation triggered your anxiety?
Negative automatic thought
What was your negative automatic thought in that specific situation?
How strongly do you believe in your thought?
(0-100) 0= not at all, 100=completely
Emotion
What were your feelings?
Proofs
What proofs support your negative automatic response?
Disproof
What proofs go against your negative automatic thought being true?
How strongly do you believe in your disproofs?
(0-100) 0=not at all, 100=completely
Alternative thought?
How strongly do you believe in your negative automatic thought now?
Worksheet 4: Positive Affirmations
If you tend to be an anxious person, you have two choices:
1: Give in, and let it run your life.
2: Accept it, and learn how to manage it
Managing Anxiety:
Negative self-talk and self-criticism make an already anxiety provoking situation much worse. In fact, negative thinking can even create anxiety, which can then interfere with attention, concentration, and mood.
Positive affirmations are the opposite of negative self-talk and self-criticism. They are positive sentences or phrases that help create a more optimistic thought pattern. While negative thinking increases anxiety, positive thinking reduces and frees a person from it.
The first step in using a positive affirmation is to recognize your own self critical thoughts. This can be done by looking at your thought journal from the past week.
Once you read your self critical thought, you try to rework it in a more positive way.
Example
Self critical thought:
I am going to fail, I am so stupid, I will never be successful.
Positive Affirmation:
I did not do well but I tried my best, next time I will do better.
Another Thought:
General positive affirmations written down and left around your house or car can also help to reduce your anxiety.
Create your own positive mantra!
Situation
What was happening?
Who with?
Where?
When?
What were you doing?
Trigger for Anxiety about Health
Physical symptoms?
Thoughts?
Hearing about illness?
Emotion(s)
Note type of emotion (sad, anxious, angry, etc)
Rate intensity of emotion (0-100%)
Unhelpful thoughts or images
Write most unhelpful thought or image
How much do you believe that thought (0-100%)?
Response to thought
What did you do?
What would be a more rational and more balanced perspective?
Is there another way of looking at this?
How much do you believe this different perspective (0-100%)?
Outcome
Describe emotion (one word)
Rate intensity of emotion (0-100%)
What was helpful?
Worksheet 2: Goal Orientation
These are two issues that are holding me back from enjoying my life to the fullest right now:
1.
2.
Here are two actions I can take to change my life for the better right now:
1.
2.
Worksheet 3: Problematic Ways of Thinking
What is problematic thinking?
Problematic thinking is the thought process and things such as negative automatic thoughts and thought traps. With anxiety, non-effective thinking can affect us, and even make us feel worse. When you experience problematic thinking, positive and realistic thinking really can automatically help improve your frame of mind.
Cognitive Distortions
A cognitive distortion is an exaggerated and often irrational automatic thought. And it’s mighty, having the power to generate chronic depression and anxiety.
Overgeneralization
Overgeneralization is making a knee-jerk generalization based upon ultra-poor quality evidence. We must learn that we can’t judge all situations based upon a particular set of past circumstances.
Disqualifying the Positive
This is also known as all-or-nothing thinking. And just as the name implies, any positives of a set of circumstances are left behind in its presence. The sole focus is upon the negative.
Consider this example:
My friends, even my therapist, say that I’m doing so much better. Baloney! All I know is I’m completely anxious and depressed, and that’s just the way it is.
Notice how quickly and smoothly the positive was tossed aside. And do you see how the negative was reinforced? And not only did she have no rational evidence upon which to base her assessment and statement, she had strong evidence to the contrary! In her current mode of thought creation and maintenance, do you think there’s a chance of reasoning with her?
Tossing Overgeneralizations Aside
Using something known as cognitive restructuring is one of the best weapons in destroying overgeneralization. Work needs to be done on your methods of thinking. Once you’ve gained the insight into what you’re doing wrong, you’re ready to fix it. And then it’s on to learning how to cognitively restructure – and practice, practice, practice.
Trigger
What specific situation triggered your anxiety?
Negative automatic thought
What was your negative automatic thought in that specific situation?
How strongly do you believe in your thought?
(0-100) 0= not at all, 100=completely
Emotion
What were your feelings?
Proofs
What proofs support your negative automatic response?
Disproof
What proofs go against your negative automatic thought being true?
How strongly do you believe in your disproofs?
(0-100) 0=not at all, 100=completely
Alternative thought?
How strongly do you believe in your negative automatic thought now?
Worksheet 4: Positive Affirmations
If you tend to be an anxious person, you have two choices:
1: Give in, and let it run your life.
2: Accept it, and learn how to manage it
Managing Anxiety:
Negative self-talk and self-criticism make an already anxiety provoking situation much worse. In fact, negative thinking can even create anxiety, which can then interfere with attention, concentration, and mood.
Positive affirmations are the opposite of negative self-talk and self-criticism. They are positive sentences or phrases that help create a more optimistic thought pattern. While negative thinking increases anxiety, positive thinking reduces and frees a person from it.
The first step in using a positive affirmation is to recognize your own self critical thoughts. This can be done by looking at your thought journal from the past week.
Once you read your self critical thought, you try to rework it in a more positive way.
Example
Self critical thought:
I am going to fail, I am so stupid, I will never be successful.
Positive Affirmation:
I did not do well but I tried my best, next time I will do better.
Another Thought:
General positive affirmations written down and left around your house or car can also help to reduce your anxiety.
Create your own positive mantra!