More specifically, this next section will help you plan behavioural experiments where you will put yourself in situations that you might either usually avoid because of the distress (cognitive, emotional and/or physical) you typically experience or that you remain in but endure with distress.
This kind of exposure exercise has you actually putting yourself into situations that result in uncomfortable emotions. Depending on how long you’ve been struggling with depression and/or anxiety, you might have a number of situations that fall into this category. If that’s the case, use the Hierarchy of Feared Situations Form to make a list of all them and then rank them from least to most distressing. You might also want to assign a value to how distressing they are, with 100 representing the most distress possible and 0 representing no distress. An example of a completed Hierarchy of Feared Situations Form is below.
Sample
| Situation | Distress Level (0-100) |
| Telling my boss that I have depression and/or anxiety | 100 |
| Talking to my boss about my work performance | 90 |
| Going on a weekend trip with friends (same expectations) | 80-85 |
| Going to a large family gathering where I will be expected to be happy and social | 60-70 |
| Giving a presentation in front of a big crowd | 45-55 |
| Looking at photographs from before I became depressed and/or anxious | 30-40 |
| Going for a walk by myself | 10-20 |
Now, try building your own Hierarchy of Feared Situations.
Sample
Hierarchy of Feared Situations Form |
|
| Situation | Distress Level (0-100) |
Online Form