Worst, Best, Most Likely

Anxiety zooms in on the worst possible outcome and treats it as a certainty. Decatastrophizing widens the lens: not to pretend nothing bad could happen, but to see the whole range — and to remember you could cope even with the bad version.

The fear

What I'm afraid might happen

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How likely the worst case FEELS right now

Rate from 0 (Unlikely) to 10 (Certain): ____

Three scenarios

Map it out

Worst case

• What actually happens: ____________________

Best case

• What actually happens: ____________________

Most likely

• What actually happens: ____________________

If the worst did happen

How I'd cope, who'd help, and whether it'd still matter in a year

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Now — how likely is the worst case, realistically?

Rate from 0 (Unlikely) to 10 (Certain): ____

Coping beats odds: Fear shrinks fastest not when you prove the bad thing won't happen, but when you realize you could handle it if it did.

Go deeper

Ready for more? These lessons pick up where this worksheet leaves off.

• Anxiety and Intolerance of Uncertainty, from The Neurodivergent Brain. Why anxiety is so common in autism, ADHD & AuDHD — intolerance of uncertainty, the loops that keep it going, and tools that help.
• Perseveration, Rumination, and Thought Loops, from The Neurodivergent Brain. Why the neurodivergent mind gets stuck — monotropism, why 'just stop' fails, perseveration vs OCD, and exits that work.