Introduction
Emotional reasoning is a cognitive distortion in which you interpret your feelings as absolute evidence of truth. This thinking trap leads you to believe that if you feel a certain way, then that feeling must reflect reality—regardless of objective evidence to the contrary.
This guide explores how emotional reasoning can skew your perception of reality and details DBT strategies to help you recognize when emotions are hijacking your logical thinking, allowing you to make more balanced assessments.
Key Takeaway
Emotions are valid experiences but unreliable indicators of objective reality. Learning to separate feelings from facts helps develop more accurate perceptions and healthier responses.
Understanding Emotional Reasoning
What Is Emotional Reasoning?
Emotional reasoning occurs when you assume that your internal emotional experience reflects objective reality. In other words, if you feel something strongly, you conclude that it must be true—even if the facts don't support that conclusion.
How It Works
This distortion bypasses logical analysis. It transforms temporary feelings into "truths" about yourself, others, or situations, creating a reality based on emotional states rather than observable evidence.
Examples
- • "I feel overwhelmed, so this task must be impossible"
- • "I feel anxious about the presentation, so I'll definitely fail"
- • "I feel unloved, therefore I am unlovable"
Why It Matters
Relying on emotional reasoning can reinforce negative thought patterns, hinder problem-solving, and contribute to anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. It creates a self-reinforcing cycle where feelings generate beliefs that create more of the same feelings.
Common Manifestations
Anxiety-Based Predictions
Using anxiety as evidence that something bad will happen. "I feel anxious about this meeting, so it's bound to go poorly" despite having no concrete evidence to support this prediction.
Self-Criticism
Interpreting negative emotions about yourself as evidence of personal flaws. "I feel inadequate, therefore I am inadequate" regardless of accomplishments or positive feedback from others.
Relationship Insecurity
Using feelings of insecurity or jealousy as evidence of relationship problems. "I feel jealous, so my partner must be interested in someone else" without factual evidence or communication.
Impulsive Decision-Making
Making decisions based primarily on emotional states rather than considering facts, consequences, or long-term goals. "I feel passionate about this now, so it must be the right choice" without rational evaluation.
Impact on Mental Health
The Mental Health Burden
When emotions are treated as facts, they gain outsized influence over your thoughts and behaviors. This can create a self-reinforcing cycle where negative emotions generate negative thoughts, which in turn produce more negative emotions.
Over time, this pattern can contribute to or exacerbate various mental health challenges, making it harder to maintain perspective during emotional fluctuations.
Related Mental Health Conditions
- Anxiety disorders
- Depression
- Panic disorder
- Borderline personality disorder
Long-term Effects
- Difficulty with emotion regulation
- Impaired decision-making
- Relationship conflicts
- Avoidance behaviors that limit growth
DBT Techniques & Strategies
Dialectical Behavior Therapy offers several effective techniques for challenging emotional reasoning and developing a more balanced perspective:
Check the Facts
Separate feelings from facts by evaluating objective evidence. This technique helps counteract the tendency to treat emotions as reality.
Application
When you notice emotional reasoning, ask: "What are the objective facts of this situation? What evidence supports or contradicts my emotional interpretation?"
Mindfulness of Emotions
Observe your emotions without judgment or immediate action. This creates space between feeling and interpretation.
Practice
Label emotions as they arise: "I'm noticing feeling anxious" rather than "This situation is threatening." This creates distance between the emotion and your interpretation of reality.
Wise Mind
Access the integration of emotional mind and reasonable mind—the balanced perspective that honors both feelings and facts.
Questions to Ask
- • "What is my emotional mind telling me?"
- • "What is my reasonable mind saying about this?"
- • "What would my wisest self say about this situation?"
- • "What feels true AND makes logical sense?"
Opposite Action
When emotional reasoning drives unhelpful behaviors, deliberately choose to act in ways that contradict the emotion—especially when the emotion doesn't fit the facts.
Example
If you feel anxious about a social event and conclude "This will be terrible," practice opposite action by attending the event anyway and engaging fully—this challenges your emotional reasoning with direct experience.
Practical Exercises
Try these exercises to challenge emotional reasoning and develop more balanced thinking:
Emotion vs. Fact Log
Create a two-column journal that distinguishes between emotional interpretations and objective observations.
Example Format
- Emotional Interpretation: "My friend didn't text back because they're upset with me."
- Observable Facts: "My friend hasn't responded to my text for 3 hours. They mentioned earlier they had meetings today. They have responded late in similar situations before."
Emotion Intensity Tracking
Monitor how emotional intensity affects your interpretations of situations. Track the correlation between strong emotions and distorted thinking.
Steps
- Rate your emotional intensity on a scale from 1-10.
- Write your initial interpretation of a situation.
- Wait until your emotional intensity decreases (if possible).
- Re-evaluate the same situation when you're calmer.
- Compare the two interpretations and note any differences.
Reality Testing Questions
Develop a set of questions to challenge emotional reasoning when it arises. Use these questions to test the validity of emotion-based conclusions.
Sample Questions
- 1. Evidence: "What evidence supports this feeling? What evidence contradicts it?"
- 2. Alternatives: "What other explanations might there be for this situation?"
- 3. Perspective: "How might someone else view this situation?"
- 4. Pattern: "Have I felt this way before when the outcome was different than I expected?"
- 5. Wise Mind: "What is the balanced perspective that considers both my emotions and the facts?"
Related Thinking Traps
Emotional reasoning often appears alongside these other thinking traps:
Mind Reading
Assuming you know what others are thinking or feeling based on your emotional state, without evidence.
Catastrophizing
Expecting the worst possible outcome based on emotional distress rather than likelihood.
Fortune Telling
Predicting future events based on current emotions rather than evidence or probability.
Conclusion
Emotional reasoning is a natural human tendency, but when it dominates our thinking, it can significantly distort our perception of reality. By learning to separate feelings from facts using DBT techniques like checking the facts, mindfulness, and Wise Mind, you can develop more accurate interpretations of situations.
Remember that emotions are valuable signals about your internal experience, but they are not reliable indicators of external reality. With practice, you can honor your emotions while still maintaining a balanced perspective on the facts of a situation.
Moving Forward
Continue your journey toward more balanced thinking by exploring other DBT skills and resources: