PofunaWhat are automatic thoughts? How to notice them in everyday life
Automatic thoughts are the quick comments, meanings or images that come to mind in a situation. Sometimes you notice a change in your feelings before you notice the thought. In CBT, paying attention to these moments can help you understand what an experience meant to you. You can start by noticing what came up, without having to change it straight away.
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Are automatic thoughts always negative?
Seeing your keys and thinking “I’ll put those in my bag” can be automatic. So can “I know how to do this” when you recognise a familiar task. The word describes how quickly a thought arrives, with little deliberate effort. It does not, by itself, tell you whether the thought is accurate or indicate a mental health condition.
For reflection, you might choose a comment that accompanied a difficult feeling or an action you were unhappy with. Write down the words as you remember them. A thought coming to mind is a reason to notice it, rather than a reason to assume it is a fact. Noticing and evaluating can happen at different times.
Centre for Clinical Interventions — The Thinking-Feeling Connection (PDF) ↗
Separating the event, thought, feeling and action
Imagine a fictional first visit to a drawing class. You ask the tutor to demonstrate a step again. That is the event. “I’m the least capable person here” might be the automatic thought. Embarrassment is a feeling, warmth in your face is a bodily sensation, and keeping your next question to yourself is an action. These experiences are connected, but recording them separately makes it clearer what you are looking at.
“I feel incompetent” can contain a judgment as well as a feeling. You could put “embarrassed” under feelings and “I’m incompetent” under thoughts. This distinction does not mean that thoughts are the only cause of feelings. Your body, circumstances and other influences matter too. The class example is invented, not a report about a real person.
What if I cannot find the thought?
Go back to a small moment when your feelings shifted. You could ask, “What did I say to myself then?”, “What did this mean to me?” or “What did I expect would happen?” The answer might be a brief phrase such as “I won’t finish”, rather than a full explanation. It could also be a mental picture. If so, describe what was happening in it in your own words.
There is no need to fill a gap with a guess. “I couldn’t find the thought; I felt tense and left the room” is a useful, honest note. You may remember more later, or leave the entry there. You do not need to monitor every moment or find a technical label for each thought.
Taking the next step
In the drawing-class example, “I asked for a step to be repeated” is an observation. “I’m the least capable person here” reaches much further. Separating the two can be enough for a first note. If you want to explore it, include what you know and what you do not: you are learning a skill, and you do not know everyone else’s experience. One practical step might be to tell the tutor which part needs explaining.
A thought record gives you space to put the event, feeling, initial interpretation and available information alongside each other. Our balanced-thought guide covers weighing that information and writing a realistic response in more detail. You do not have to turn every entry into a long debate with yourself. Take a break if writing adds to your distress, and consider professional support if difficulties are affecting daily life.
Sources and further reading
These sources are in English. Pofuna prepared the explanation and fictional examples independently; the organisations do not endorse this article.