For this exercise I write on the board, one by one, a series of questions. These questions are in bold print below. In their notebooks, students write responses to each question. I pause for a few minutes between each question so students have time to complete their responses. After we complete the exercise, we go back over the questions and discuss the intended purpose of that technique.
Students then write their response.
This gets at possible catastrophizing. The first question attempts to stimulate more rational, realistic thinking. The second encourages cognitive adapting to the situation. Look back over the things you wrote for questions 1-3. Pick out one of those statements and write it down, as if your friend just said it.