Worry record
Maximum level of anxiety (1-10): 4
Symptoms: muscle tension, jitteriness.
Trigger: Hal didn't return my call.
Automatic (negative) thought: Hal isn't calling because his cancer came back and he doesn't want to tell me about it.
Your evidence for the automatic thought: He usually returns calls or emails pretty quickly. I asked him a question in my voice mail and expected to hear back quickly.
Behaviors: compulsive email checking, emailed to ask if he got my message.
Refute (Counter your evidence): No news is good news!
Alternative (positive) thought: He's out of town and hasn't gotten my message. Or he did get the message, but needed to check his calendar and then forgot to get back to me.
Experiment
Prediction: His cancer is back and he's keeping it secret.
What actually happened: He meant to reply but just forgot. :-)
Symptoms: muscle tension, jitteriness.
Trigger: Hal didn't return my call.
Automatic (negative) thought: Hal isn't calling because his cancer came back and he doesn't want to tell me about it.
Your evidence for the automatic thought: He usually returns calls or emails pretty quickly. I asked him a question in my voice mail and expected to hear back quickly.
Behaviors: compulsive email checking, emailed to ask if he got my message.
Refute (Counter your evidence): No news is good news!
Alternative (positive) thought: He's out of town and hasn't gotten my message. Or he did get the message, but needed to check his calendar and then forgot to get back to me.
Experiment
Prediction: His cancer is back and he's keeping it secret.
What actually happened: He meant to reply but just forgot. :-)