Examine the Evidence
Do I know for certain that _______?
Am I 100% sure that _______?
What’s the evidence for _______? What evidence do I have that the opposite is true?
If I had to convince someone that this thought is NOT true, what would I say?
What is the evidence that it will or will not happen?
Does this thought consider the whole truth?
Have I ever faced this situation before? How did it turn out? Did my worst fear come true? How could I tell?
Do I have a crystal ball?
Does ______ have to lead to or equal _______?
What does _______ mean? Does it really mean that I am a(n) _______?
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“So What?”
On a scale from 0 to 100 where 0 is stubbing my toe and 100 is losing all the people I’m close to, how terrible would my feared outcome in this situation really be?
What if my worst fear came true, would that really be so bad? Can I survive it?
How much will _______ really affect my life?
What things would I do to cope if the worst case scenario happened? How would I handle it? (be specific)
Has this happened in the past? Did I survive it?
Do other people ever _______? Maybe ______ is more common than I thought.
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Alternative Explanations
Based upon the evidence collected, what other ways can I interpret this situation?
Is there another point of view that I’ve overlooked?
How would _______ (someone I really admire) interpret this situation?
Is there another explanation for _______?
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Advantages and Disadvantages
What are the advantages of holding onto this thought and treating it as fact? What’s the pay off?
What are the disadvantages of holding onto this thought? What does it cost me?