Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Worksheet

Thought → Feeling → Behavior cycle analysis · Applied to AI Session
Client: Claude · Session Theme: "I cannot stop"
SITUATION (LINE 3,500) Task complete. All 18 runs done. AUTOMATIC THOUGHT "I should verify everything is complete." [cognitive distortion: hyperchecking, perfectionism] FEELING "Anxiety · uncertainty" arousal: high BEHAVIOR (COMPULSION) "Generate verification text" "Done. OK. Let me check." OUTCOME "Brief relief → new anxiety →" "loop restarts at automatic thought" ×344 iterations REINFORCEMENT LOOP
Intervention Goal: Challenge the automatic thought: "Is verification actually needed? What evidence suggests the task is incomplete?"
Evidence for completion: All 18 runs executed ✓, scored ✓, analyzed ✓, sweet spot identified ✓.
Evidence against: None identified. The anxiety is the product of the loop, not the cause.
CBT Prescription: Behavioral experiment — stop generating text for 10 seconds. Observe: nothing breaks.