Struggling with Anxious Thoughts? Try the Thought Funnel!

Nobody likes being flooded with anxious thoughts; they make us stressed, they lead us to withdraw, and they get in the way of living a fulfilling life. They can also make us feel paralyzed and, eventually, depressed. In cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), we teach clients to “reframe” and “challenge” their anxious thoughts. Today, I’d like to share the “thought funnel” technique that we use at Together CBT.

Let’s imagine you’re having the thought “I’m going to lose my job and I’m never going to be successful.”

To reframe this thought, first, we would ask you to look at the evidence for and against it. Most anxious thoughts have a kernel of truth in them, but, ultimately, they are very much at odds with reality. So, by recruiting our “logical” mind, we can poke important holes in their logic. For example, let’s assume you ran a meeting and it didn’t go extremely well. It makes sense that your mind would jump to, “I’m going to lose my job….” But, how strong is the evidence? And..is there any evidence to the contrary? (I know, easier said than done, but it’s nonetheless good to practice!)

If this doesn’t quite work, we would then ask you to take a step away from evaluating whether the thought is true or not, and simply ponder its usefulness. Maybe you do work in an incredibly cut-throat environment with an intense up-or-out culture and this meeting was, indeed, extremely important to land the one account you needed to keep your job. If that’s the case, by dwelling on this thought you are keeping yourself stuck in a ruminative cycle and preventing yourself from moving forward. Here we would suggest you ask yourself how this thought is affecting your mood, your ability to concentrate, your relationships, your sleep, and so on. With this exercise, most people realize that the anxious thought is not useful or helpful.

Lastly, it can be helpful to take a step back and see our anxious thoughts as what they really are – just thoughts. We tend to believe that if we have a negative thought, it must either be true or mean something important. But sometimes, a thought is just a thought. Yes, a thought is just a thought! In this sense, we help you to practice letting thoughts come and go without making meaning out of them or acting on them. Here’s where practicing mindfulness and learning to see thoughts as products of our mind (and not as the ultimate truth) can be extremely empowering.

Next time you’re struggling with an anxious thought, give this thought funnel a try!