Brilliant Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, 2nd Edition

Why behavioural experiments are so helpful

You will have noticed by now that a great many of our negative thoughts rely on fear-filled assumptions – assumptions about what other people are thinking or indeed what will happen to us and others if we act in certain ways. Because we anticipate the worst we tend to play it safe and avoid situations and behaviours that might confirm our worst suspicions. But, of course, if our negative thinking is unrealistic and distorts reality, then there is a good chance that many of these gloomy or anxiety-inducing predictions are false. The great benefit of behavioural experiments is that they allow us to call the bluff of our negative thoughts and test out such predictions in real-life settings. These experiments ...