The Reality Audit
FREE TRAUMA RESOURCE
A practical reference tool for identifying distorted beliefs learned in chronically dysfunctional environments and working out whether they’re simply inaccurate, or still emotionally encoded even when you know better.
Some beliefs become so familiar that they stop feeling like beliefs and start feeling like facts.
Many people carry beliefs from childhood without fully recognising where they came from, whether they still fit, or why some continue to feel true even when they logically know they aren’t.
The Reality Audit helps you take a closer look at those beliefs rather than automatically accepting them as true.
Use it to:
identify common distorted beliefs
understand how the distortion may be shaping your interpretation
notice whether a belief is a logical misconception, or feels emotionally true (potentially indicating trauma-encoding)
consider what a more accurate, reality-based belief might look like
The goal isn’t to dismiss your reactions or tell yourself that everything is “just trauma.” It’s to help you evaluate what you believe, what you know, and what still feels true with more accuracy and nuance.
Designed to be used alongside Episode 5 of The Trauma Nerd Podcast (but still extremely useful without it)
How to use it
Work through each belief and notice your response to the accurate version in the right column. Does it land and feel obviously true? Or does part of you agree with it logically while something else still pulls toward the distorted version?
If the accurate version lands cleanly, that means it’s a misconception that is more easily addressed. If the logic lands but you still feel the pull of the distorted version, that likely means there’s an element of trauma-encoding and the belief is at least partially stored in your body.