Emotional reasoning is a cognitive distortion in which a person believes that their emotional reactions or feelings accurately reflect reality, regardless of evidence to the contrary. In other words, people assume that because they feel a certain way, it must be true. This type of thinking can distort perceptions and lead to inaccurate conclusions about situations, other people, or themselves.
Emotional reasoning is when we let our feelings guide our decisions. Sometimes, it’s helpful—like if you get a bad vibe from someone new, it might be smart to trust that. But most of the time, it’s important to balance your feelings with logic to make the best choices.
Ever catch yourself thinking, 'I feel useless, so I must be useless,' or 'I feel ugly, so I must be ugly'? We often believe that just because we feel a certain way, it must be true. But that’s like saying if it rains one day, the sun will never shine again! Feelings don’t define who you are—just because you feel it doesn’t mean it’s true.
Emotional reasoning is common in anxiety and depression and can contribute to negative thought patterns, reinforcing feelings of fear, sadness, or inadequacy. It’s often addressed in psychotherapy,where you learn to challenge and reframe your emotions-based beliefs with more rational, evidence-based thinking.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
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