In cognitive behavioral therapy, the branch of psychotherapy with the most proven effectiveness, the work often begins with the analysis of automatic thoughts. As an example, consider the situation of Mr. Meursault, the main character of the story “The Outsider” in French existentialist writer Albert Camus. Meursault, a thirty-year-old employee in one of the colonial towns of Algeria, spoke on the phone with a friend at work. “A little later, the patron called me to his place, and I thought that I would get a scolding: talk less on the phone, work more. It turned out to be completely different. He stated that he wanted to talk to me about something. There is nothing definite yet, everything is in the project. He just wanted to ask me something. He intends to open an office in Paris so that there, on the spot, he can negotiate and conclude deals with large companies. And he wanted to know if I would agree to go there. This would allow me to live in Paris and travel part of the year.” The boss's call was a situation about which Meursault had certain feelings. Camus does not describe them, but it can be assumed that Meursault felt anxious. Maybe his heart began to beat, his breath caught. Perhaps he smoked three cigarettes in a row. These are emotions, physiological reactions and behavior. A thought that could well cause anxiety and corresponding reactions is the following: “I’ll get a scolding: talk less on the phone, work more.” This thought contains two errors: a) catastrophizing (negative prediction) - expectation of the worst result. b) mind reading - confidence in knowing the thoughts of another person. In this case, the automatic thought and perceived anxiety were corrected due to the fact that the boss soon explained the reason for the call and Meursault began to think differently. Moreover, it is interesting that the reason for the call was exactly the opposite of the character’s expectations. If the patron had suddenly postponed the conversation to the next day, then Meursault could have become increasingly immersed in this thought and anxiety, gotten drunk on cognac, or even not gone to work the next day. But Meursault could also correct his thought himself, without waiting for a conversation with his boss, if he had mastered the methods of cognitive behavioral therapy and thought about the following questions: 1) What are the arguments for and against my thought, which in themselves do not require evidence? Arguments for: “The boss once reprimanded a colleague for talking on the phone. He also warned at the meeting that you should not talk on the phone.” Arguments against: “He saw me and other colleagues talking on the phone many times, but made no comments. When he reprimanded that colleague, he did not scold him, but asked him not to do it again." 2) What is the alternative explanation? "He calls for another reason: work issues, promotion, business trip." 3) What is the worst that can happen, will I be able to survive this, what is the best that can happen and what is the most realistic outcome? “The worst that can happen: he will yell at me. I'll be upset, but I can get through it. At best, he will tell me about a promotion. The most realistic outcome: he will give an additional task." 4) What are the consequences of my belief in automatic thought? "I feel anxious, I cannot relax, I cannot do my work, I smoke and drink a lot, I do not spend time with Marie." 5) What will be the consequences, if I change my thoughts? “I can cope with work, calm down and enjoy communicating with my friend.” 6) What should I do? “It’s better to continue working and then meet my friend, rather than go to bed and drink cognac, as I did before in such cases.” 7) What will I tell my friend who finds himself in the same situation? “Raimon, you don’t know why he called you. Even if it’s to scold, nothing bad will happen. He won't fire you or fine you for this. Yes, it’s unpleasant, but you can survive.” After a correctly performed analysis, the intensity of the disturbing emotion is reduced due to error correction.