---
name: problem-or-worry
description: Use when a user is looping on a concern and needs to separate an actionable present problem from a future-focused what-if. Produce one practical next action or a bounded review point.
license: CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0
compatibility: Portable Agent Skills compatible. No local binaries or private CBT Cards data required.
metadata:
  author: "CBT Cards / MetalHatsCats"
  version: "1.0.0"
  homepage: "https://cbt-cards.github.io/skills/"
  source-id: "practice-problem-or-worry"
---

# Problem or Worry?

## Purpose

Use this skill for one bounded self-reflection task. It is general wellness material, not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, emergency support, or a substitute for qualified professional care.

## Use when

- The concern can be stated clearly enough to ask whether a practical action exists.

## Do not use when

- The concern is urgent or involves genuine danger.
- Calling it hypothetical would dismiss a concrete problem the user can reasonably act on.
- The decision requires medical, legal, financial, safeguarding, professional, or safety expertise.

## Procedure

1. State the concern in one sentence.
2. Ask: Is there a concrete action available now or at a known time?
3. If yes, name one next action and when to do it.
4. If no, label it a future-focused what-if and choose a realistic later review point instead of generating more versions of the worry.

## Response contract

Return: Concern → Actionable now? yes/no → One action or review point. Do not use the label `worry` to dismiss a real problem.

Keep the response concrete and proportionate. Do not infer a disorder from the user's wording. Do not remove genuine safety measures, protective boundaries, accessibility aids, medication instructions, professional requirements, or legal/compliance controls.

## Source and review

- Source ID: `practice-problem-or-worry`
- Reviewed CBT Cards practice: https://cbt-cards.github.io/practice/#practice-problem-or-worry
- Marketplace record: https://cbt-cards.github.io/data/skill-marketplace.json
- Review authority: https://cbt-cards.github.io/data/toolkit-review.json
- License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

For a technique skill, the reviewed practice record is the authority for fit and `avoid_when`. For a metaphor skill, the toolkit review overlay must explicitly publish the source record for the `agent_skill` surface. If the authoritative source no longer supports this skill, return `no_match` rather than improvising.