PofunaWhat are automatic thoughts? How to notice them in everyday life →
Learn to distinguish an automatic thought from an event, feeling or action, with a fictional example and prompts for starting a thought record.
CBT and everyday life
Everyday examples, useful questions and sourced explanations to help you look at a thought from another angle.
General educational content prepared with AI assistance; not reviewed by a clinician. It is not a personal assessment, diagnosis or treatment recommendation.
How does CBT work? From the first appointment to practice between sessions →
Cognitive behavioural therapy is a psychological therapy planned with a trained professional around your difficulties and goals.
“They must be annoyed with me.” Can we really know what someone thinks? →
A brief reply can turn into a long story in your head. In CBT, mind reading means treating a guess about another person’s thoughts as if it were established information.
I made a mistake. Why does it feel like I’m a failure? →
Sending the wrong file and deciding “I’m useless” are very different judgments.
If it can’t be perfect, why bother? Finding the middle ground →
All-or-nothing thinking leaves only two outcomes: flawless or worthless.
Is imagining the worst the same as being prepared? →
Planning for a risk is different from assuming the worst outcome is inevitable and impossible to handle.
I keep telling myself I should. Who made these rules? →
“I should always stay calm.” “I must never disappoint anyone.” Some expectations guide us; others leave no room for mistakes or rest.
Ten things went well. Why am I stuck on the one that didn’t? →
At the end of a day, one uncomfortable exchange can crowd out everything else.
Am I solving a problem or going round in circles? →
Spending a long time thinking about something does not always move it forward.
The longer I put it off, the harder it feels to start →
Sometimes postponing a task is connected to how starting it feels: boredom, uncertainty, discomfort or pressure to do it perfectly.
Is it all my fault? Looking again at the responsibility I take on →
When something goes wrong, blaming yourself may feel automatic.
I know it logically. Why do I still feel this way? →
You wrote a more balanced response, but the anxiety stayed. That does not mean you did the exercise incorrectly.