Anxiety
Grid for Plotting Anxiety Intensity Against Perceived Control
This tool helps clients see the relationship between their anxiety levels and how much control they.
When a client treats all anxious situations as equally overwhelming, they often overlook a critical variable: their own sense of agency. They may describe feeling helpless or at the mercy of external events, unable to differentiate between a scenario where they have options and one where they truly have none. This perspective keeps them stuck, viewing anxiety as an incoming attack rather than a response they can mediate.
This directive creates a clear, visual connection between the client’s anxiety intensity and their perceived level of control in any given situation. It shifts the conversation from the anxiety itself to the conditions that shape it. The client walks away with a new framework for understanding their responses, seeing not just a problem to be endured but an equation they can begin to influence.
Grid for Plotting Anxiety Intensity Against Perceived Control
Over the next week, identify specific situations, thoughts, or events that produce anxiety. When you notice one, place it on the grid below.
First, rate the intensity of the anxiety you feel: is it high or low? Second, rate the amount of control you believe you have over the situation or its outcome: is it high or low?
Write a brief description of the situation in the box that corresponds to your two ratings. Add at least five entries. Do not analyze the entries; just place them.
| LOW Perceived Control | HIGH Perceived Control | |
|---|---|---|
| HIGH Anxiety Intensity | ||
| LOW Anxiety Intensity |
Generated with Rapport7 — rapport7.com