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Back from the Bluez
Module 4
The ABC Analysis

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The ABC Analysis

2Thought Diary

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Module Summary

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About the Modules

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Module 4: The ABC Analysis

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Back from theThe ABC Analysis

We’ve talked about the way our thoughts affect how we feel. If we are feeling happy and excited, chances are, wehave been thinking positive thoughts and about positive things. On the other hand, if we are feeling anxious,
depressed, and upset, it is likely that we have been thinking negative thoughts. We call these unhelpful thoughts(simply because they lead to unpleasant feelings or unhelpful actions!). All of us, at times, think things that make us
feel sad or anxious, and that is a normal part of life. However, if you often feel distressed or anxious, you mightneed to examine your thinking to improve how you feel.
If unhelpful thoughts lead to distressing emotions, then it might be quite reasonable to say that the most effective
thing to do is to change those unhelpful thoughts to helpful ones! So, how can you do that? To start influencing
the way you feel, you need to learn to be aware of, and “capture,” those unhelpful thoughts and beliefs, with theultimate aim of changing them. To do that, let’s start with doing an ABC analysis.
The ABC analysis begins with identifying the ‘A’ which stands for ‘Activating Event.’ Simply
write down an event or a situation in which you experienced a strong negative emotion, such as,depression. Record the situation the same way a video camera might record it – just the facts.
This means that you do not include your thoughts about why the situation occurred, who wasresponsible, and how you felt about it. Just describe the event simple, without any ‘frills.’
The next step is to identify the ‘C’ which stands for ‘Consequences,’ and this includes both your feelings andyour actions/behaviour. Write down the words that best describe your feelings. Choose the feeling that bestrepresents the emotion you actually felt at the time and underline it. Then rate the intensity of thisemotion from 0 to 100. The higher the number, the more intense the emotion. You might also
want to note any actions that you carried out, for example, drawing all the curtains, putting on theanswering machine, and going to bed.
Now, bearing in mind the situation and th e feelings you experienced, identify the ‘B,’ which represents your‘Beliefs’ or thoughts, expectations, perceptions, and attitudes. Ask yourself “What was I thinking of when theevent occurred?” “What was going through my mind at the time?” Write down all of these thoughts in a list.
When you have completed this task, read through each statement and then underline the thought that is mostassociated with the primary emotion you felt during the ‘A‘. We’ll now call it your hot thought. Now rate howmuch you believe this thought on a scale from 0 to 100.
B. Beliefs (thoughts)
A. Activating Event(Situation)
C. Consequences (Feelings & Actions)Let’s look at an example. Imagine walking into a party and feeling anxious. To do an ABC analysis, you might ask
yourself, "How am I making myself anxious? What am I thinking?" You might identify a thought such as, "I don’t
want to be here." If you only had this thought, you’d probably not experience a strong emotion but only feel
mildly anxious. If you do experience a strong emotional response to this thought, it probably indicates that there
are other thoughts underlying this thought. Therefore, the thought, "I don’t want to be here" is only an initialthought, and you would need to discover what other unhelpful thoughts were present to invoke such a strong
emotional response.

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Back from theHow to Uncover Your Unhelpful Thoughts
By asking yourself a number of questions, you can uncover any other unhelpful thoughts underlying an initialthought. Let’s use the example of being at the party to identify the unhelpful thoughts underlying the initialthought "I don't want to be here." The following is a description of the thoughts that might be going through yourhead as you uncover other unhelpful thoughts. The questions in bold are your unhelpful thought discovery
questions.

"I don't want to be here".
"I don't want to be here because…?""…people will look at me and know that I
am depressed""…and that is bad because…?""Well, they will think something is wrong with me""…and what is bad about that..?""….They will think I'm crazy!""…and what does that say about me?""…..that I must be crazy."Your task is to become an expert at identifying your unhelpful thoughts. Sometimes, one or two thoughts might
not represent the other unhelpful ones you might have had. As such, to get to those other thoughts, you mightneed to ask some of the following questions, called Thought Discovery Questions:“What is bad about that?”“What is it that I see happening in this situation?”“What am I concluding about myself or others in this situation?”“… and that is bad because …”“… and what does this say about me …?”
It is best to be as specific as you can, even if some of your unhelpful thoughts sound stupid or embarrassing when
you think about them. Discovering your unhelpful thoughts, no matter how silly they sound, is important inlearning how to better manage your mood.
After you have done this, we will tackle the issue of where we go from here. At this point, it is important thatyou understand how to identify your feelings and thoughts surrounding a particular situation, especially one inwhich you experienced unhelpful, negative emotions. When a person experiences unhelpful emotions, they might
get a stronger physical reaction in their body, such as a tightness in the chest when anxious, an increase in bloodpressure when angry, or a sense of heaviness when depressed. Emotions such as depression, guilt, fear, rage, andanxiety might also lead to avoidance and unhelpful behaviours towards yourself and others, get in the way ofeffective problem solving, and contribute to long term difficulties such as hypertension, heart disease,interpersonal problems, and psychological problems. Doing the ABC analysis is taking the first step towardlearning to better manage your mood and helping yourself feel better.

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Back from theOn the next page is a Thought Diary for you to start doing an ABC analysis and recording your unhelpful
thoughts. Here’s an example of an ABC analysis recorded on a Thought Diary:

Thought Diary (example)
A

Activating EventB

This may include an actual event or
situation, a thought, mental picture or
physical trigger.
When my partner came home
this evening, she said ‘hi’ butdidn’t give me a kiss like she
usually does.

Beliefs

1. List all self-statements that link A to C. Ask
yourself: “What was I thinking?“ “What was I
saying to myself?“ “What was going through myhead at the time?“
2. Find the most distressing (hot) thought andunderline it.
3. Rate how much you believe this thought between
0 to 100.
“She must be tired of me moping
around and feeling depressed.”

CThought discovery question: “… and what does thismean?”Consequences
1. Write down words describing how youfeel.
2. Underline the one that is most
associated with the activating event.
3. Rate the intensity of those feelings (0 to100).

“She probably doesn’t care about meanymore. Maybe she doesn’t evenlove me anymore.” (90)

Hurt
Afraid (90)
4. Jot down any physical sensations you
experienced or actions carried out.
Chest feels very tight and soreCCI

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Back from theThought Diary
A Activating Event

This may include an actual event or situation, athought, mental picture or physical trigger.

B Beliefs

1. List all the self-statements that link A to C. Ask
yourself: “What was I thinking?”, “What was I sayingto myself?”, “What was going through my head at thetime?”
2. Find the most distressing (“hot”) thought andunderline it.
3. Rate how much you believe this thought between 0and 100.

C Consequences

1. Write down words describing how you feel.
2. Underline the one that is most associatedwith the activating event.
3. Rate the intensity of this feeling between 0and 100.

4. Jot down any physical sensations you
experienced or actions carried out.

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Back from theModule Summary
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What really makes us feel the way we do, is not the situation or the words andactions of another person, but our thoughts and beliefs in response to that situationor person
When a person experiences a negative or distressing emotion, this is usually
because they have been thinking negative thoughts
These negative thoughts are also called unhelpful thoughts because they lead to
unpleasant feelings or unhelpful actions
To begin to influence and change the way you feel, you need to be aware of yourunhelpful thoughts
Using a Thought Diary, identify the ‘A’ - activating event, ‘B’ - beliefs, thoughts, orexpectations that went through your mind at the time of the event, and ‘C’ consequences, which are your emotional and behavioural responses

Stay Tuned...
In the next module, we will discuss specifictrends or patterns to unhelpful thoughts thatmaintain unhelpful feelings and behaviours.

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Back from theAbout The Modules
BACKGROUNDThis module was created in the early 2000s by Clinical Psychologists at the Centre for ClinicalInterventions, under the supervision of the Centre’s Founding Director, Paula Nathan.
The concepts and strategies in these modules have been developed from evidence based psychologicalpractice, primarily Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT). CBT for depression and anxiety is based on theapproach that depression and anxiety are the result of problematic cognitions (thoughts) and behaviours.

REFERENCES
These are some of the professional references used to create the modules in this information package.
Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J. , Shaw, B. F., Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: The
Guildford Press.
Beck, J.S. (1995) Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond. New York: The Guilford Press
Barlow, D.H. (2001). Clinical handbook of psychological disorders: A step-by-step treatment manual (3rded.) New York: The Guilford Press
Clark, M.D. & Fairburn, C.C. (1997) Science and practice of cognitive behaviour therapy. Oxford:Oxford University Press
Dobson, K.S., & Craig, K.A. (1998) Empirically supported therapies: Best practice in professional
psychology. Thousand Oaks: Sage
Hawton, K., Salkovskis, P.M., Kirk, J., & Clark, D.M. (1989) Cognitive behaviour therapy for psychiatricproblems: A practical guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Nathan, P.E. & Gorman, J.M. (2002) (Eds.) A guide to treatments that work (2nd ed.) New York: Oxford
University Press.

“BACK FROM THE BLUEZ”
This module forms part of:Nathan, P., Rees, C., Lim, L., & Correia, H. (2003). Back from the Bluez. Perth, Western Australia: Centre
for Clinical Interventions

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