Socratic Questioning for Anxiety

When anxiety shows up, thoughts can feel overwhelming. Socratic Questioning is a simple Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) technique for anxiety that helps you slow down and look at your anxious thoughts more clearly, and realistically. 

Rather than automatically believing your worries or seeking constant reassurance, this approach teaches you how to gently question your thinking. The goal isn’t positive thinking — it’s gaining perspective, so anxiety feels more manageable.

This exercise or parts of it are commonly used in therapy. 

Socratic Questioning can help you:

• Calm racing or repetitive thoughts

• Reduce overthinking and self-doubt

• Challenge unhelpful assumptions that increase anxiety

• See situations more clearly

• Feel less emotionally overwhelmed

You don’t need to answer every question. Start with what feels helpful.

1. What’s the problem or situation? 

2. What am I telling myself about this?

3. How does this make me feel?

4. What evidence supports this thought?

5. What evidence doesn’t fully support it?

6. Is there another way to look at this?

7. What’s the worst that could happen — and how might I cope?

8. What’s the best that could happen? 

9. What’s most likely to happen?

10. What would I say to a friend in this same situation? What advice would I give? 

11. What’s one small step I can take right now?

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Siobhan Marko is a Social Worker and Psychotherapist based in Toronto’s Bloor West–High Park area. With over 20 years of experience, she helps adults and adolescents overcome anxiety, depression, stress, burnout, and life transitions. Using CBT and mindfulness-based approaches, she provides practical tools to support meaningful change. Book a consultation call and discover what you’re truly capable of.