here's an image of an ABC form which happens to be one of many tools used within cognitive behavioral therapy for short CBT this ABC form is used as a worksheet for writing method which can be used to release oneself from the anxiety and negativity of overwhelming events the sequence of steps can help to put the situation into perspective allowing for clarity and the adaptation of better ways to personally deal with unpleasant circumstances let's begin with the first objective write down your emotion it may very well be that your reaction to the event has brought out a whole range of emotions try your best to jot down the emotions that have the strongest current or force here's a list of emotions look at the center of the circle to find the most general emotion once located then look to the outer region of the chart to discover the more specific emotion take a few deep breaths to feel the current or the emotion allow it to move through you and then write it down in the first column of the ABC chart next write down your actions how did you behave before during and after the situation what was your part or role in the event the focus in this section is on the way you acted not the way you felt you may require additional space for writing in this section so flip over the sheet and continue writing on the other side the third step has to do with finding what triggered your uneasiness with the situation did somebody say or do the wrong thing write down what it was exactly that evoked your reaction the fourth section of this method allows us to review our assumptions write down the thoughts and beliefs that went through your mind as you were about to engage the situation and as well as during the event itself what were you expecting or hoping for by entering into this encounter perhaps the event was not anticipated so just remember the thoughts and beliefs you had while experiencing the event and then write it down in the beliefs column in order to complete the fifth section of this exercise you have to become familiar with a handful of general thinking errors here's a basic list to get us started feel free to pause this video to read the content thoroughly now that you have taken a look and how one might go about filling out an ABC form in light of applying CBT your next course of action might be to apply your newfound skills there are links posted in the description section of this video that will allow you access to the EBC form and the wheel of a motion chart used in this video in addition a number of experts have written on this ABC method so there should be ample resources on the internet to help you become more familiar with this technique