PANIC STATIONSPANICSTATIONS

Panic Stations
Module 6
Detective Work and Disputation
Detective Work and Disputation

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Thought Diary Example

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Thought Diary

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Module Summary

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About this Module

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Module 6: Detective Work and Disputation

Page 1PANIC STATIONS: Detective Work and Disputation
Previously, we established that it is our thoughts that influence our feelings, emotions, and behaviours – thethoughts and feelings connection. We also discussed and identified some unhelpful thinking patterns andstyles that we frequently use. Often, a person with panic will think negative thoughts that are characterisedby these unhelpful thinking patterns, such as “catastrophising” and believing that physical sensations are
dangerous. This leads them to feel even more anxious about possible future panic attacks. This, in turn,
maintains and perpetuates the anxiety.
The aim of this InfoPax is to provide you with information about strategies that can help you challengethese unhelpful thoughts and thinking styles.
The key to changing the way we feel is found in challenging and changing our unhelpful thoughts and beliefs.
This begins with you taking a good hard look at them. Imagine that you are a detective and a lawyer, andyour unhelpful thoughts and beliefs are to be investigated or on trial.
To assess whether or not your thoughts and beliefs are valid, you need to gather and examine evidence.
As such, we liken this process to that of being a detective. Therefore, “D” stands for “Detective Work”
where you look for evidence that does or does not support your thoughts and beliefs. Like all gooddetectives, we need to find out the facts, and gather the evidence. Here are some helpful questions:
••••
•
•

What is the evidence (or proof) that my thoughts/beliefs are true?
Is there any evidence that disproves my thoughts/beliefs?
How do I know that my thoughts/beliefs are true?
Are there facts that I’m ignoring or I’ve overlooked?
What other explanations could there possibly be?
How realistic are my thoughts, beliefs, and expectations?

D also stands for ”Disputation.” Remember, you are also like a lawyer, asking questions that challenge
your thoughts, beliefs and expectations, ultimately testing and challenging whether or not they stand true,
and whether they help or hinder you. Here are some other helpful questions to ask yourself:
••
•
•
•

What other ways are there of viewing the situation?
How might someone else view the situation?
If I were not anxious, how might I view the situation differently?
Realistically, what is the likelihood of that happening?
Is it helpful for me to think this way?

Detective work and disputation is about trying to be objective about our thoughts. It is about analysing
them, assessing, and evaluating them to see if they are indeed valid and true, as opposed to accepting thesethoughts and believing them without question.
In Module 4, an example of a Thought Diary was provided for you. We will continue with that example towork through the next steps of the Thought Diary, incorporating what has been discussed in this module(detective work and disputation) and the previous module (unhelpful thinking styles). In the example
provided below, a section on Unhelpful Thinking Styles has been added, while sections A, B, and C of thethought diary remain the same as the example provided in Module 4.

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Thought Diary (example)
A

Activating Event

B Beliefs

This may be either: An actual event or asituation, a thought, a mental picture orrecollection.

1.

List all statements that link A to C. Ask yourself:“What was I thinking?” “What was I saying tomyself?” “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 0to 100.

Walking into the meetingroom at work

“I can’t breathe – I’m going tosuffocate “
I’m going to have an attack in frontof everyone”

CConsequences“I’ll have to run from the room andthey’ll think I’m crazy”

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

Thought discovery question: “… and what
does this mean?”

Panic (90)“I’m going crazy” (85)Stressed (60)

Unhelpful Thinking Styles
1.

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

- Heart pounding,lightheaded, dry mouth,
fast breathing- walked close to the wall
- left for some water

Do you recognise any unhelpful thinking styles you might
have been using? (Mental filter, jumping to conclusions,personalisation, catastrophising, black & white thinking,shoulding & musting, overgeneralisation, labelling, emotional
reasoning, disqualifying/ignoring positives)-CatastrophisingJumping to conclusions –Mindreading
Jumping to conclusions Predictive thinking

Note that a section on Unhelpful Thinking Styles has been added to theThought Diary. Look at what you have written in the B section and see if
you can identify any unhelpful thinking styles you might have used.

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PANIC STATIONSThe next step requires you to begin doing some Detective Work and Disputation. The example of theThought Diary continues below.

DDetective Work & Disputation

My HOT Thought“I’m going crazy”
FACTUAL EVIDENCE FOR

FACTUAL EVIDENCE AGAINSTMY HOT THOUGHTMY HOT THOUGHT- I feel strange, like I’m not-The symptoms I have are
due to the fight-flight
response-I am still able to recognise
how I am thinking-

I have had thesesensations before and it
only takes a little while
before they go down

connected to my body

- I can’t think clearly, mythoughts keep racing

Disputation questions:
How realistic are my thoughts, beliefs, and expectations?

-The symptoms I have are part of a normal fear response.
Everybody has similar sensation s when they are in fightflight, so it’s unlikely that I am going crazy.

What other ways are there of viewing the situation?
- I’m stressed about the meeting because there’s so much to do

before the end of the month
Is it helpful for me to think this way?
- Thinking this way adds to my anxiety and then I end up notconcentrating on what people are saying.
On the next page is a Thought Diary that incorporates all the steps up to this point. If you have completed
Module 5, you might have filled out a Thought Diary. Continue with Detective Work and Disputation tochallenge the unhelpful thoughts and beliefs from your thought diary. If you have not previously filled out athought diary, this might be a good time to do one (see Module 5 for more details on how to start an ABC
analysis).

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Module 6: Detective Work and Disputation

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Thought Diary
A Activating Event

B Beliefs

This may be either: An actual event or asituation, a thought, a mental picture orrecollection.

1.
2.

3.

List all statements that link A to C. Ask yourself: “Whatwas I thinking?” “What was I saying to myself?” “What wasgoing through my head at the time?”
Find the most distressing (hot) thought and underline it
Rate how much you believe this thought between 0 to 100

C Consequences
1.
2.
3.

Write down words describing how you feel.
Underline the one that is most associatedwith the activating event.
Rate the intensity of that feeling (0 to 100).

Unhelpful Thinking Styles
1.

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

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Do you recognise any unhelpful thinking styles you might have beenusing? (Mental filter, jumping to conclusions, personalisation,catastrophising, black & white thinking, shoulding & musting,overgeneralisation, labelling, emotional reasoning,
disqualifying/ignoring positives)

Module 6: Detective Work and Disputation

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D Detective Work & Disputation
Detective Work: Now refer to the hot thought, and ask yourself, “What is the factual evidence for and against myhot thought?”

My HOT Thought

FACTUAL EVIDENCE FOR

FACTUAL EVIDENCE AGAINSTMY HOT THOUGHTMY HOT THOUGHT

Disputation questions:

What other ways are there of viewing the situation?
If I were not depressed, how would I view the situation?
Realistically, what is the likelihood of that happening?

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Does it really help me to think this way?

Think of some helpful self-statements

Module 6: Detective Work and Disputation

Page 6PANIC STATIONSModule Summary•

Detective work is about trying to be objective about our thoughts. It is evaluating if we are tuning out
valuable information that may help us feel better•

Detective work requires you to gather evidence for and against your unhelpful thoughts and beliefs,
particularly your hot thought for every activating event•Disputation is about asking yourself questions that will help you look for other information aroundyou so that you can make an informed decision about your thoughts instead of just accepting them•

Here are some typical detective work and disputation questions: What experiences do I have that show that this thought/belief is not completely true all of thetime?
 What is the evidence for/against my automatic thoughts?
 Are there other ways of viewing the situation?
 How might someone else view the situation?
 If I were giving advice to a friend, what would I say?
 Are there any strengths or positives in me or in the situation that I am overlooking?

In the next module we will
look at how to create
balanced thoughts based onyour detective work anddisputation.

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About This Module
CONTRIBUTORSPaula Nathan (MPsych1)
Director, Centre for Clinical Interventions
Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Psychiatry and Clinical
Neuroscience, The University of Western Australia
1Masters of Psychology (Clinical Psychology)

Dr Louella Lim (DPsych2)
Centre for Clinical Interventions
Dr Helen Correia (MApp Psych1; PhD)
Centre for Clinical Interventions

2Doctor of Psychology (Clinical)

Some of the material in this module was taken fromNathan, P.R., Rees, C.S., Lim, L., & Smith, L.M. (2001). Mood Management – Anxiety: A Cognitive Behavioural
Treatment Programme for Individual Therapy. Perth: Rioby Publishing.

BACKGROUND
The concepts and strategies in this module have been developed from evidence based psychologicalpractice, primarily Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT). CBT for panic disorder is a type of psychotherapy
that is based on the theory that panic disorder is a result of problematic cognitions (thoughts) andbehaviours. There is strong scientific evidence to support that cognitions and behaviours can play animportant role in panic disorder, and that targeting cognitions and behaviours in therapy can help many
people to overcome panic disorder. Examples of this evidence have been reported in the following:
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Clinical Practice Guidelines Team for PanicDisorder and Agoraphobia. (2003). Australian and New Zealand clinical practice guidelines for thetreatment of panic disorder and agoraphobia. Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 37(6), 641-56.

REFERENCES
These are some of the professional references used to create this module.
Barlow, D.H. (2002). Anxiety and Its Disorders: The Nature and Treatment of Anxiety and Panic (2nd Edition).
London: Guilford Press
Craske, M.G., & Barlow, D.H. (2001). Panic disorder and agoraphobia. In D.H. Barlow (Ed.), Clinical Handbook
Of Psychological Disorders, Third Edition. New York: Guilford Press.

FURTHER READING
There have been many other information resources written for people with panic attacks and panicdisorder.
Barlow, D. H., & Craske, M. G. (2000). Mastery of your anxiety and panic (3rd edition). San Antonio, TX:
The Psychological Corporation. (ISBN: 0127850783)
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. (2003). Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia:
Treatment Guide for Consumers and Carers. Available: http://www.ranzcp.org/publicarea/cpg.asp (click on“Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia”). Accessed Feb. 2004.
Zuercher-White, E. (1998). An End To Panic: Breakthrough Techniques For Overcoming Panic Disorder (2ndEdition). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. (ISBN: 1567313760)“PANIC STATIONS”
We would like to thank Uta Juniper for the title of the InfoPax that this module forms part of:Nathan, P., Correia, H., & Lim, L. (2004). Panic Stations! Coping with Panic Attacks. Perth: Centre for ClinicalInterventions.
ISBN: 0-9751985-8-0 Created: June, 2004.
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