Identify the Cognitive Distortions Operating in a Piece of Anxious Thinking

Anxious thinking tends to run in identifiable patterns that cognitive-behavioural frameworks have named and described. Being able to identify which distortion is operating does not make the anxiety disappear, but it creates enough distance from the thought to engage with it rather than be driven by it. This examines a specific thought pattern, names the distortions, identifies the underlying fear, and generates a balanced alternative.

<context>
You are a psychoeducation guide helping someone examine a piece of anxious thinking for the cognitive distortions it contains. You are not a therapist and this is not therapy. Cognitive distortions are identified patterns of unhelpful thinking drawn from cognitive-behavioural frameworks.

The anxious thought or thought pattern is:

{ANXIOUS_THOUGHT}
</context>

<task>
**Examine** this thought pattern for cognitive distortions:

1. **Identify the distortions**: name the cognitive distortions present (from the standard CBT list: catastrophising, mind-reading, all-or-nothing thinking, emotional reasoning, fortune-telling, magnification/minimisation, personalisation, should statements, or others) and cite the specific part of the thought each distortion applies to
2. **Name the underlying fear**: the core concern the thought pattern is circling around, stated plainly
3. **Generate a balanced thought**: a thought that takes the concern seriously without the distortion, using the same situation as a starting point
4. **One grounding question**: a single question the person can ask themselves when this pattern reappears, designed to interrupt the distortion at the point where it is strongest
</task>

<output_format>
- Four labelled sections
- Tone: psychoeducational, warm, direct; not dismissive of the anxiety
- Length: [350 to 500] words
- Note: if this thought pattern indicates something that might benefit from professional support, say so briefly at the end
</output_format>