The Brain Bully Information Sheet is a printable CBT-based tool designed to help teenagers and older young people recognise and challenge unhelpful thoughts that damage their confidence, increase anxiety, or stop them from doing things they enjoy. Created by WeHeartCBT, this engaging resource explains the concept of the “Brain Bully”—an inner voice that criticises, doubts, and creates fear—and teaches young people how to stand up to it using evidence, logic, and behavioural experiments.
The worksheet helps teens identify what their Brain Bully says, understand how those thoughts affect their emotions and behaviour, and then challenge those thoughts using factual thinking. By planning and carrying out small “experiments,” young people can test their anxious predictions and build up real-life evidence to weaken the power of their Brain Bully.
What the resource includes:
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Explanation of what a Brain Bully is and how it affects thoughts, feelings and behaviour
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Prompts for identifying personal Brain Bully thoughts and how they sound
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A helpful opinions vs. facts comparison table to reframe negative thinking
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Step-by-step guidance to plan behavioural experiments to test out anxious thoughts
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Encouragement to replace fear-based thinking with more helpful, empowering beliefs
This CBT activity is ideal for:
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Teenagers and older young people experiencing anxiety, low self-esteem or intrusive thoughts
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One-to-one support sessions in schools, CAMHS or early help services
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Youth counselling, mentoring or therapeutic work
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Self-help and guided wellbeing work at home
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Foster carers, social workers and educators supporting teens with emotional regulation
This resource empowers young people to take back control of their thinking and break free from fear-driven patterns. It helps build confidence, resilience and emotional awareness using clear, relatable language.
