Self-Help

Thought-Emotion-Behavior Triangle

By: Brian O'Sullivan, M.S., LMFT

In the 1960s, Aaron Beck developed cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), one of the most commonly used and researched therapy styles. Research has shown CBT to be one of the best places to start when seeking help for anxiety.

Disclaimer: The resources provided here are not a substitute for therapy. The information presented is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as therapy, psychological advice, or be used for diagnosis. Nothing on this website establishes a therapist-patient relationship. For personalized guidance, please consult your physician or mental health provider.

At the core of CBT is the premise that our thoughts, behaviors, and feelings are separate yet interconnected pieces. Each piece influences one another, forming a process. This process, shown below, can start at any point in the triangle and travel in any direction.

For example, imagine Helen, a college student who has been preparing for her final presentation for economics class. While eating breakfast the morning of her presentation, she thinks, "What if I completely freeze as soon as I walk up on stage?" She starts noticing her chest tightening, a racing heart, and sweaty palms. She gets the urge to stop eating, returns to her dorm room, and begins searching on the Internet about stage fright and signs someone will freeze on stage.

The process also unfolds at different speeds depending on the intensity of each point. When we are emotionally triggered, everything happens in an instant. We quickly move from a thought or feeling into action. When we are calm, the process slows down, and we can see each point more clearly.

This model is an excellent lens through which to view our relationship with anxiety, and we can use it to assist in accomplishing an essential thing:

Increasing Our Awareness of Anxious Patterns

Most of the time, our thoughts, feelings, and urges occur beneath our awareness, and it's not entirely bad. It's adaptive. Imagine having to identify and thoroughly think through each point in the triangle for small decisions in daily life, like taking out the garbage or sending the average work email. Our daily bandwidth would be exhausted before mid-morning each day.

However, we all have patterns that bring us negative results in our lives. When we notice problematic patterns, this is a great opportunity and likely a sign that we need to increase our awareness in the particular area. The triangle is a perfect tool for unpacking these patterns.

Think of the triangle as a self-researching tool to learn more about your hidden drivers. Regularly track your thoughts, feelings, and urges/behaviors before or after significant spikes in anxiety.

Regularly ask yourself:

Thoughts

  • What was I thinking before/during that spike?
  • What was I telling myself?
  • What specifically was the self-talk saying?

Feelings

  • What emotions was I thinking?
  • What sensations did I notice in my body?
  • Where did I feel the sensations?
  • Did the sensations change? If so, how?
  • How would you rate the intensity of the emotions and sensations?

Behaviors

  • What did I do?
  • What automatic urges came up?
  • What did I almost do?

By doing this regularly, you start to become an expert at your unhelpful patterns, and this does an essential thing.

Shutting Off Our Brain's Autopilot

The brain loves to keep the triangle hidden below our awareness because it's efficient and because, for some areas of life (especially within unhelpful patterns), examining each point in the triangle can be quite uncomfortable, even scary.

As a result, and with good intentions, the brain works hard to keep the triangle hidden. When this happens, we get stuck on autopilot, and the automatic thoughts, feelings, and urges essentially control us.

Increasing our awareness of automatic unhelpful patterns slowly brings them to the surface and shuts down autopilot.

Does this mean anxiety goes away and we are no longer impacted by it? No.

Shutting off autopilot doesn't relieve the discomfort of anxiety. It simply allows us to have a choice and focus on things we can control. It's an important starting point and a massive step in the direction of managing anxiety.

Self-Help

Thought-Emotion-Behavior Triangle

By: Brian O'Sullivan, M.S., LMFT

In the 1960s, Aaron Beck developed cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), one of the most commonly used and researched therapy styles. Research has shown CBT to be one of the best places to start when seeking help for anxiety.

Disclaimer: The resources provided here are not a substitute for therapy. The information presented is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as therapy, psychological advice, or be used for diagnosis. Nothing on this website establishes a therapist-patient relationship. For personalized guidance, please consult your physician or mental health provider.

At the core of CBT is the premise that our thoughts, behaviors, and feelings are separate yet interconnected pieces. Each piece influences one another, forming a process. This process, shown below, can start at any point in the triangle and travel in any direction.

For example, imagine Helen, a college student who has been preparing for her final presentation for economics class. While eating breakfast the morning of her presentation, she thinks, "What if I completely freeze as soon as I walk up on stage?" She starts noticing her chest tightening, a racing heart, and sweaty palms. She gets the urge to stop eating, returns to her dorm room, and begins searching on the Internet about stage fright and signs someone will freeze on stage.

The process also unfolds at different speeds depending on the intensity of each point. When we are emotionally triggered, everything happens in an instant. We quickly move from a thought or feeling into action. When we are calm, the process slows down, and we can see each point more clearly.

This model is an excellent lens through which to view our relationship with anxiety, and we can use it to assist in accomplishing an essential thing:

Increasing Our Awareness of Anxious Patterns

Most of the time, our thoughts, feelings, and urges occur beneath our awareness, and it's not entirely bad. It's adaptive. Imagine having to identify and thoroughly think through each point in the triangle for small decisions in daily life, like taking out the garbage or sending the average work email. Our daily bandwidth would be exhausted before mid-morning each day.

However, we all have patterns that bring us negative results in our lives. When we notice problematic patterns, this is a great opportunity and likely a sign that we need to increase our awareness in the particular area. The triangle is a perfect tool for unpacking these patterns.

Think of the triangle as a self-researching tool to learn more about your hidden drivers. Regularly track your thoughts, feelings, and urges/behaviors before or after significant spikes in anxiety.

Regularly ask yourself:

Thoughts

  • What was I thinking before/during that spike?
  • What was I telling myself?
  • What specifically was the self-talk saying?

Feelings

  • What emotions was I thinking?
  • What sensations did I notice in my body?
  • Where did I feel the sensations?
  • Did the sensations change? If so, how?
  • How would you rate the intensity of the emotions and sensations?

Behaviors

  • What did I do?
  • What automatic urges came up?
  • What did I almost do?

By doing this regularly, you start to become an expert at your unhelpful patterns, and this does an essential thing.

Shutting Off Our Brain's Autopilot

The brain loves to keep the triangle hidden below our awareness because it's efficient and because, for some areas of life (especially within unhelpful patterns), examining each point in the triangle can be quite uncomfortable, even scary.

As a result, and with good intentions, the brain works hard to keep the triangle hidden. When this happens, we get stuck on autopilot, and the automatic thoughts, feelings, and urges essentially control us.

Increasing our awareness of automatic unhelpful patterns slowly brings them to the surface and shuts down autopilot.

Does this mean anxiety goes away and we are no longer impacted by it? No.

Shutting off autopilot doesn't relieve the discomfort of anxiety. It simply allows us to have a choice and focus on things we can control. It's an important starting point and a massive step in the direction of managing anxiety.