Emotional Reasoning

What is Emotional Reasoning #

Emotional Reasoning refers to the tendency to believe that your emotions accurately reflect the truth or reality of a situation. It involves making judgments, decisions, and drawing conclusions based on your feelings rather than on objective evidence or logical reasoning. When engaging in Emotional Reasoning, you assume that if you feel a certain way, it must be true, regardless of whether there is evidence to support it. This cognitive distortion can lead to distorted perceptions, misinterpretations of events, and unhelpful behaviors.

Example Scenarios #

To better understand Emotional Reasoning, let’s consider a few scenarios that illustrate how this cognitive distortion can manifest in our thoughts:

1. The Presentation Anxiety #

• Scenario: Sarah is scheduled to give a presentation at work. She feels anxious and thinks, “I’m so nervous about presenting. It means I’m going to fail, and everyone will think I’m incompetent.”
• Explanation: In this scenario, Sarah is engaging in Emotional Reasoning by assuming that her anxiety equates to inevitable failure and incompetence. She overlooks the fact that feeling nervous before a presentation is normal and doesn’t necessarily reflect her actual ability to deliver a successful presentation.

2. Social Rejection #

• Scenario: John’s friends decline his invitation to hang out. He feels disappointed and thinks, “They don’t want to spend time with me. I must be unlikable and unwanted.”
• Explanation: Here, John is falling into Emotional Reasoning by assuming that his feeling of disappointment must mean that he is unlikable and unwanted. He fails to consider alternative explanations, such as his friends having other commitments or simply not feeling up to socializing that day.

3. Relationship Insecurities #

• Scenario: Lisa’s partner is spending time with a friend without her. She feels jealous and thinks, “If my partner wants to spend time with someone else, it must mean they don’t love me anymore.”
• Explanation: In this case, Lisa’s Emotional Reasoning leads her to believe that her feeling of jealousy accurately reflects her partner’s lack of love. She ignores the possibility that her partner can have other relationships and interests without it indicating a decline in their love for her.

Identifying Emotional Reasoning #

Here are a few questions to ask yourself to determine if your thoughts may be distorted by Emotional Reasoning:

1. Am I assuming something is true solely because I feel a certain way?
2. Have I considered objective evidence or alternative explanations for the situation?
3. Are there any logical reasons that challenge my emotional conclusion?
4. Have my emotions been accurate indicators of reality in the past?
5. What would be a more objective and rational way to interpret this situation?

By asking yourself these questions, you can become more aware of when you might be engaging in Emotional Reasoning and begin to challenge those thoughts with a more balanced and logical perspective.