Reframe Anxious Thoughts in 3 Easy Steps

Cognitive Restructuring: Learning to Challenge and Reframe Anxious Thoughts in 3 Steps

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health concerns in the world and anxiety often leads to negative thinking that can worsen anxious feelings. Cognitive restructuring is a technique used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help people change the way they think. Cognitive restructuring can help you to challenge your anxious thoughts and reframe them in a way that better serves you. There are many ways to practice cognitive restructuring but these three steps can help you start.

Step 1: Identify the anxious thought 

Sometimes when you are experiencing anxiety you have so many thoughts at once that it can be difficult to identify what is making you feel anxious. Identifying this thinking is the first step in reframing it. For example, if you are feeling anxious about a big presentation you have for work the thought may be “I will not do a good job on the presentation and my boss will judge me harshly.”

Step 2: Challenge and reframe the anxious thought

After you have identified the anxious thought you can take control of it by challenging the negative thinking associated with it. Continuing with the example above, you could challenge that thought with thoughts such as “I am qualified and competent at my job. My boss assigned me this presentation because they believe I can do it.” This forces your brain to confront the negative thoughts head on instead of allowing them to control you. 

Step 3: Ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen?”

Anxiety is often at its worst when you are afraid of an unknown outcome. By asking yourself what is the worst that can happen you are again challenging that anxious thinking. Often the worst case scenario and what actually occurs are vastly different. By identifying the worst case scenario (in the example above: “I am fired from my job because of my poor presentation”) the more likely scenarios don’t seem as daunting and overwhelming. It is far more likely that your presentation goes well and perhaps your boss has some minor feedback than you being fired on the spot. Confronting the worst case scenario can take some of the fear out of your thinking.

Reframing negative thoughts can be challenging and intimidating at first. However, the more you practice confronting these anxious thoughts the easier it becomes. The goal is to train your brain to do this automatically and decrease your overall anxiety as a result. Remember, your thoughts and feelings are valid but they are not facts. Don’t believe everything you think!