Are unhelpful thinking patterns causing stress, anxiety, or impacting your mental health? The 3 C’s technique can help.
This simple, practical activity can help you identify unhelpful thoughts, challenge them, and replace them with more useful alternatives.
What are the 3 C's?
Catch it
Notice what you are thinking
Check it
Ask yourself if the thought is actually true.
Change it
Try a more balanced or helpful thought instead.
How does the 3 C’s technique work? Let’s hear from an
Try for yourself: The 3 C's technique
Grab a piece of paper or open your journal. Take a few moments to reflect and write your thoughts down as you go through the 3c's.
Step 1: Catch it
Start by noticing a thought that you are having and writing it down. Sometimes our thoughts can be automatic and hard to notice.
Tip: If you feel anxiety, sadness or frustration,
Ask yourself: What thought is associated with this emotion?
Example:
Feeling anxious in the morning → Thought: “I’m going to have a bad day at work”
Step 2: Check it
Once you have identified a thought, examine whether it’s realistic: Compare it to the facts of the situation:
Ask yourself: Is this thought true?
Write down any evidence that supports the thought
Write down any evidence that contradicts this thought
Example:
Thought: “I’m going to have a bad day at work”
Evidence for: Yesterday, a rude customer shouted at me.
Evidence against: I’ve had a good week so far, and my friend is on the same shift today.
Step 3: Change it
After weighing the evidence, write down other ways you could view the situation. Reflect on how these alternative thoughts might make you feel differently.
Examples of alternative thoughts:
“My shift isn’t too bad, and I can get through it”
“Maybe that customer was having a bad day, which is why they were rude”
