A Therapy Center for Autistic Girls & Women
She Rocks the Spectrum
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.
