List three situations in your life in which you have become emotionally upset. These can be times when you have become depressed, anxious, angry, or generally nervous and upset. Try to avoid appropriate extreme expressions of emotion, such as grief/sadness over the loss of a loved one, getting angry when someone hurt you, etc. Think of incidents where you had to “figure out” why you felt emotional, such as “I am depressed because I feel as if my roommate and I are drifting apart as friends.” If you would rather not list personal experiences, then describe situations from a television show, movie, or book.
Next, diagram the three experiences you listed on the previous page. Describe the Activating Experience, then the Emotional Consequence, and then consider what the associated Belief might be, placing it in the middle column. For example, you might list “I failed a midterm exam” as the Activating Experience, and “I was depressed” as your Emotional Consequence. In this example, your middle sentence might be “One should be thoroughly competent at everything in order to feel worthwhile”. Submit your diagrams and a 1-2 page discussion. Make sure to use APA style and citations.