Cognitive Restructuring: Decatastrophizing Worksheet

Catastrophizing is a common issue that people face in therapy. It is a term that refers to people feeling anxious because they feel the worst will happen in a challenging situation. Catastrophizing causes people to feel a great deal of anxiety. It often causes people to act irrationally and in a way that worsens the situation.

That is why it is important to know how to decatastrophize. The process of decatastrophizing is learning how to challenge anxious thoughts and not jump to the conclusion that the worst will happen.

About This Worksheet

This is the Cognitive Restructuring: Decatastrophizing worksheet. This worksheet uses cognitive restructuring to teach clients how to decatastrophize.

Cognitive restructuring is the practice of training your brain to think in a healthier way. With cognitive restructuring, clients can learn how to re-train their brain so they do not catastrophize or assume the worst will happen when faced with challenges.

Cognitive restructuring helps a great deal with reducing symptoms of anxiety. It prevents the client from jumping to conclusions and strengthens their skills for challenging upsetting thoughts and impulses.

Instructions

Before presenting your client with this worksheet, provide a brief explanation of what catastrophizing is and how it affects the way they feel. Then, explain how decatastrophizing and challenging anxious thoughts that assume the worst will happen can help to reduce anxiety.

Review the introduction on the worksheet with the client, and answer any questions they have. Then, instruct them to complete the questions provided in reflection of a situation that is causing them to catastrophize. Review the results of the exercise with your client. Instruct the client to refer to this worksheet the next time they feel themselves getting anxious because of their catastrophizing thoughts.

This worksheet is great for CBT work with groups and individual sessions. It is intended to be used with adolescents and adults.

Download Cognitive Restructuring: Decatastrophizing Worksheet