I saw an 81 yr old patient. I saw her teeth all yellow and some are broken.

I will do a quick TD: yuck, old teeth don’t look nice. Growing old sucks. I will grow old too. I don’t want to grow old. Life is pointless because it ends in old age and death.

C 81 yr old teeth
T life is pointless
F depressed

I don’t know what the A is… Probably because I interrupted the model. I saw the thought life is pointless, it has come up in other situations/models. So I just said to my own brain, here is that thought again… And carried on with my work.

I was asking myself did I change my tone of voice with the patient? No. Did I brush off her complaints due to old age? No. I still advised her best practice intervention.

How do I complete the model?

I know in general sense if I am fused with the thought life is pointless then the A is I stop dreaming, I stop having goals, I settle. I just go to work and life becomes a monotony. I don’t sign up for professional development. I don’t advance my career. Wallow in depression, not enjoying my family not enjoying life. R is I am not directing (pointing) my life.

But that A and R is not connected to the patient’s teeth or how I act with the patient.

How do I complete the model about the teeth, because it was the teeth that were very obvious to me to trigger that thought. Thank you.