Detective work, disputation and balanced thinking are the main skills covered in this CBT information sheet for managing difficult moods. It explains how to question unhelpful automatic thoughts, test the evidence for a hot thought, and replace it with a more realistic belief that may reduce emotional distress.
The Changing Your Thinking CBT Handout for Bipolar Moods is a practical worksheet-style guide for adults who want to understand and challenge upsetting thoughts during shifts in mood. It can be used in therapy sessions, mood-management groups, recovery planning, or home learning after a difficult event. It is also useful for counsellors, psychologists and mental health practitioners who are introducing cognitive restructuring, thought challenging, ABC analysis or balanced thinking.
The handout outlines the link between thoughts, feelings and behaviour, then guides the reader through a structured process for testing a “hot thought”. Prompts encourage detective work, such as looking for evidence, noticing facts that may have been missed, considering alternative explanations and asking whether the thought is helping or worsening the situation. This makes the activity suitable for individual reflection, guided discussion or as a follow-up task between appointments.
- Use it to support conversations about mood, reactions and coping choices.
- Print it for worksheets, group activities, wellbeing folders or personal notes.
- Refer back to it when reviewing patterns in thoughts and emotional intensity.
The final section focuses on creating a more balanced thought and re-rating the strength of the original belief and emotion. This gives users a clear end point, rather than simply identifying negative thinking. View, print or use the handout to support calm, step-by-step reflection when difficult moods or automatic thoughts feel hard to manage.
