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Worry Box

Educational resource

A prompt for recording a worry so you do not have to keep rehearsing it every time it returns.

The CBT Cards mascot places a blank worry card into a coral box beside a simple clock.
The Worry Box gives a repeated concern a place and a planned return time.

Try the card

  1. Write the worry in one clear sentence.
  2. Choose a deliberate time when you can return to it.
  3. Until then, remind yourself that the worry has been recorded.
  4. At the chosen time, decide whether there is a practical next step or whether the worry is mainly hypothetical.

The point is not to promise that the worry is unimportant. It is to separate “I noticed this concern” from “I must keep thinking about it continuously.”

Go deeper

Read Worry time: giving worry a defined place for the fuller exercise.

Source and scope

Source record: card-15 in the public MetalHatsCats CBT Toolkit v0.1.0. The source prompt asks the user to write worries down, set them aside, and decide when or whether to deal with them.

This card is for general self-reflection. Persistent or overwhelming worry may warrant support from an appropriate qualified professional.

Continue from here

Choose the next useful step.

LearnWorry timeOpen the related educational explanation.PracticeWorry-time worksheetUse the matching private browser worksheet.