This page has instructions on how to fill in a DML for our first session and beyond.
NOTE: The DML is copyright by Dr. David Burns and used with permission in our work together. Please do NOT redistribute or share any forms with others. Download a copy of the DML for printing here directly from David’s Website.
If you’d like a fillable Google doc version please email me and I’ll create one in our file sharing folder, if I haven’t already done that for you.
What is a good “upsetting event”?
I had this question when I first started. Here’s how to pick the “right” event. Think of a time when you felt some painful emotions you want to work on. Could even be this very moment if you are feeling that way right now, but likely you’ll think of another time that was pretty upsetting. Think of who you were with, what was going on, how you were feeling, and what you were thinking. Really put yourself in that moment. If this moment still brings up those painful emotions when you think of it, that’s a good one to start with. We can unpack this further as often we have subconscious thoughts.
Negative Thoughts vs Facts and Feelings
This Mood Log is based on the princioples of CBT. That is your thoughts, to a large degree, create your feelings. We only want to work toward changing Negative Thoughts and not healthy ones. Negative Thoughts are distorted and that causes painful, unhelpful emotions. How do you know if a thought is Negative? It will be unusually painful and have distorations.
There are four rules to a Negative Thought (NT):
1. NT’s are not facts or events. IE: “I might fail” or “My dog died”. These are NOT NT’s, they are events. “I’ll never be happy again.” is a NT. Ask yourself what are you telling yourself ABOUT this event? What is upsetting to you about it?
2. NT’s are not feelings. “When I feel my knees wobble I feel anxious.” This example is both and event and emotion. What story are you telling yourself when you feel this way? IE: “I must be getting old and frail.”
3. NT’s are not questions. “What if I fail?” “What if my dog dies?”.
If you have any of these 3 on your DML, you need to rewrite them as NT’s. They are likely hiding the real thoughts causing your suffering. Here’s how to dig down to find the Negative Thoughts. Ask yourself, WHY this is upseting to you? What does it say to you? What story might you be telling yourself? What might you be saying ABOUT yourself?
Lastly, 4. NT’s need to be short and concise. Break up any long sentatnces into smaller ones and distill the thought down. You don’t need to repeat the upsetting event or other description. IE: “If my dog dies, I’ll be all alone and never feel happy and then I’ll be miserable forever and it’s all my fault.” That would be broken up into: “I’ll be all alone.” “I’ll never be happy again.” “It is my fault.” (Note we changed ‘feel’ to ‘be’ for the state of being rather than a feeling.)
Instructions for first time clients
For our first meeting, unless otherwise instructed, all you need to do is the instructions below NOT fill in the entire Mood Log.
ONLY fill in the upsetting event, the emotions (and rate how intense they feel), and fill in any negative thoughts surrounding your emotions.
See this fillable word document worksheet for more information, and read the last page for information on Negative Thoughts before starting. Please do NOT share, this is ONLY for using with me in our work together. If you can’t find the file after you click the link, please check your download folder or try right clicking the link to save it where you can find it.