Emotional Reasoning
Treating your feelings as evidence about reality — "I feel it, therefore it must be true" — about yourself, others, and the world.
Why this habit matters
- Social: Treating "I feel rejected" as proof of rejection drives social withdrawal, missed events, and a gradually shrinking social world — frequently without the other party ever knowing they were the assumed source.
- Mental_health: A core CBT-recognized cognitive distortion that drives depression, anxiety disorders, social phobia, and avoidance by treating subjective feelings as evidence about reality.
- Decision_making: Major decisions made on the basis of fear, guilt, or low mood — quitting jobs, ending relationships, declining opportunities — accumulate into a measurably narrower life trajectory.
Related habits
- Related to: Catastrophizing
- Related to: Mind-Reading
- Pairs_well_with: Journaling
- Pairs_well_with: Meditation
- Pairs_well_with: Gratitude Practice