The four-column symptom sorting exercise helps people separate anxiety into physiological, cognitive, affective and behavioural signs. It gives space to record body sensations, anxious thoughts, feelings and avoidance behaviours, making it a practical printable worksheet for CBT, counselling, wellbeing sessions or personal reflection.
This anxiety symptoms worksheet for CBT and counselling is designed to help people notice the different ways anxiety can appear in everyday life. Rather than treating anxiety as one single experience, it encourages the user to organise symptoms into body responses, thoughts, emotions and actions. Examples such as shortness of breath, chest tightness, lightheadedness, worries that others will notice, fears that something bad may happen, anxiety or fear, and avoidance behaviours can make the task easier to understand.
The clear four-column format gives space to write under physiological, cognitive, affective and behavioural headings. It can be used during therapy sessions, wellbeing appointments, small group work, guided self-help, home learning or revision of anxiety awareness. Practitioners may use it to support assessment, discussion and formulation, while individuals can use it to reflect on patterns before or after a session.
Use the worksheet as a prompt to:
- identify personal anxiety signs in a structured way;
- compare what happens in the body, mind, mood and behaviour;
- start conversations about triggers, avoidance and coping strategies;
- create a printable record that can be reviewed over time.
Download and print it for use as a standalone activity, a session handout, classroom worksheet or part of a wider anxiety workbook alongside existing support materials.
