Anxiety — Roundup

Anxiety Worksheets for Adults

Anxiety worksheets fall into three buckets: down-regulate the body, restructure the thought, and reduce avoidance. This is the working toolkit across all three, with the rule for which sheet fits which presentation — generalised worry, panic, OCD, health anxiety, or social.

Updated June 10, 2026

Match the worksheet to the presentation

PresentationFirst-line worksheetSecond worksheet
Generalised worryWorry TimeThought Record
Panic attacksPanic Attack Plan5-4-3-2-1 Grounding
OCDOCD Cycle + ERP HierarchyResponse Prevention Log
Social anxietyBehavioural ExperimentCognitive Distortions Reference
Trauma-linked anxietyWindow of ToleranceGrounding + Safe Place

Body-first: the down-regulation sheets

  • 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding — the sensory anchor for spiralling anxiety. Two minutes, memorable, works in a car park.
  • Panic Attack Plan — pre-written script so the client isn't inventing coping while dysregulated.
  • TIPP (from DBT) — for panic that grounding can't touch.

Mind-first: the restructuring sheets

  • Worry Time — schedule worry into a 15-minute window; postpone everything else to the slot.
  • Thought Record — for the specific catastrophising thought.
  • Cost-benefit — for the worry itself: what is the cost of continuing to run it?

Behaviour-first: reducing avoidance

  • Behavioural Experiment — test the feared prediction with a specific, small, this-week action.
  • ERP Hierarchy (OCD, phobias) — laddered exposure list with SUDS ratings.
  • Response Prevention Log — track the compulsion that was skipped, not the one that was done.

Frequently asked questions

What worksheet helps most with anxiety?+

It depends on the presentation. For generalised worry, Worry Time is the highest-leverage single sheet. For panic, the Panic Attack Plan. For OCD, ERP Hierarchy. Match the sheet to the anxiety subtype rather than picking one generic 'anxiety worksheet.'

Are these anxiety worksheets suitable for teens?+

Most are. The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding, Worry Time and Thought Record work with teens age 12+ without adaptation. ERP work with teens should involve parents.

How often should a client complete an anxiety worksheet?+

For active anxiety: one worksheet per meaningful trigger, plus a daily tracker. Aim for three to five entries per week between sessions. Fewer than three and there's not enough data to work with; more than daily and the sheet itself becomes a compulsion.

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