Daily practice of separating emotional reactions into three components: thoughts, bodily sensations, and behavior.
Step-by-step guide
- Choose one emotional episode from the day
- Name the emotion and trigger
- Record the thoughts that appeared
- Record bodily sensations and their location
- Record behavior and action urges
- Notice how the three components influenced one another
When to use
- From module 2 as a daily assignment
- As the foundation for later UP skills
Key phrases
Let us track thought, body, and behavior separately.
Follow-up questions
Which part did you notice first?
How did the body influence the behavior?
What action urge appeared?
Alternative phrasings
Every emotion has more than one channel.
Warnings
- ⚠️ Clients often skip bodily sensations or behavior
- ⚠️ Keep the exercise descriptive rather than interpretive
Source: Barlow et al. 2011
Materials are informational and educational and summarize publicly available scientific sources. They are not medical or psychological advice, are not intended for self-diagnosis or self-treatment, and do not replace consultation with a qualified professional.