If you're thinking about ending your life, or you're not safe right now, call 000 in Australia or 911 in the US. You can also call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or call or text 988 in the US, any time. Anywhere else, findahelpline.com lists free local lines.
Behavioural activation
TRAP and TRAC: spotting avoidance when you feel low
When you feel low, putting off a hard task or a person can bring quick relief. Behavioural activation looks at what that avoidance costs later. TRAP and TRAC is a short tool from behavioural activation for noticing avoidance and trying a different response.
How avoidance keeps low mood going
Behavioural activation describes a loop. Low mood makes you do less, and doing less leaves fewer good moments in your day. Avoidance is one of the ways you end up doing less: putting off a call, cancelling a plan, staying in bed. It brings relief in the moment, and over time it can keep low mood going. The behavioural activation guide explains the loop.
TRAP: Trigger, Response, Avoidance Pattern
- Trigger. What happened.
- Response. How you felt about it.
- Avoidance Pattern. What you did to get away from the feeling, and where it led.
An example. Trigger: a friend texts to ask if you want lunch on Saturday. Response: you feel tired and worry you'll be bad company. Avoidance Pattern: you don't reply and spend Saturday on the couch. You feel relieved at first, then lonely, and guilty about the text.
TRAC: Trigger, Response, Alternative Coping
Keep the trigger and the response the same, and change what you do next.
Alternative Coping: you reply and suggest a short coffee instead of lunch. You go for twenty minutes. You're tired afterwards, and glad you saw her.
The alternative doesn't have to be the whole plan. A smaller version of it counts, like a voice message instead of a visit. The connection list has more small ways to reach someone.
Spotting your own avoidance
Ask yourself:
- What have I been putting off this week?
- When I put it off, how did I feel straight after, and a day later?
- What's a smaller version I could do instead?
Try it yourself
Copy this table into a notebook or your phone, and fill in one row each time you notice yourself avoiding something.
| Trigger | Response | Avoidance Pattern | Alternative Coping |
|---|---|---|---|
When you've picked an alternative, plan it for a set time. Activity scheduling shows how.
Where it comes from
TRAP and TRAC is part of the behavioural activation developed by Neil Jacobson, Christopher Martell, Michael Addis and colleagues around 2001. Therapists use it to work on avoidance.
What the research says
A 2020 Cochrane review brought together 53 studies of behavioural activation for depression in adults, with about 5,500 people. Five of those studies, with 601 people, compared it with CBT. The review found no clear difference between the two in the short term, up to six months after treatment, and rated that evidence as moderate certainty.
Behavioural activation is a recommended psychological approach for depression (RANZCP 2020; NICE NG222).
These studies tested behavioural activation with a therapist or trained mental health worker. They didn't test Bloom, and Bloom isn't therapy.
Behavioural activation step by step sets out the whole method.
When to get more help
Has it lasted more than two weeks? Is it getting in the way of work, study or the people around you? Then talk to your GP. In Australia, your GP can refer you to a psychologist under a Mental Health Treatment Plan.
Beyond Blue is on 1300 22 4636 in Australia. If you're not safe, call 000 in Australia or 911 in the US. Lifeline is on 13 11 14, and in the US you can call or text 988. Anywhere else, see findahelpline.com.
Bloom does this with you
When you're putting off activities, Bloom picks small ones to start with and asks how you feel after each one.
Sources
- Martell CR, Addis ME, Jacobson NS (2001). Depression in Context: Strategies for Guided Action. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 9780393703504. openlibrary.org/isbn/9780393703504
- Kanter JW and others (2010). What is behavioral activation? Clinical Psychology Review 30: 608–620. doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.04.001
- Jacobson NS and others (1996). A component analysis of cognitive-behavioral treatment for depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 64: 295–304. doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.64.2.295
- Beyond Blue. Treatments for depression. Accessed 22 October 2026. www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/depression/treatments-for-depression
- Uphoff E and others (2020). Behavioural activation therapy for depression in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013305.pub2
- NICE (2022). Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222). www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng222
- Malhi GS and others (2021). The 2020 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists clinical practice guidelines for mood disorders. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 55: 7–117. www.ranzcp.org/getmedia/a8c79505-c0b5-46b4-9f27-67f79e047674/RANZCP-mood-disorders-clinical-practice-guideline-2020.pdf