Brilliant Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, 2nd Edition

What do I do if the results of my experiments actually end up supporting my negative belief?

The short answer is: don’t panic! There may be many reasons why things have turned out like this:

• Check that your prediction really did target your negative thought.
• Think about what other factors might be responsible for your results.
• Did you design your experiment so that the result meant something? If you are testing the thought ‘nobody wants to know me’ and you get a rejection the first time you ask your friend round for coffee, that doesn’t really constitute an adequate test!
• Don’t give up. Remember: you can never prove something is true (because the exception to the rule might still be lurking out there somewhere) but you only have to prove it ...