ISSUE #50 cont'd -- Cognitive Distortion

It’s time again for another COGNITIVE DISTORTION. Those kind of thoughts that simply make us feel worse about ourself and are not based on any kind of facts. See the index list on the right side of this page for the other ones. Today is

#7 Emotional Reasoning

This is a really tricky one, when we believe our emotions are the facts. “If I feel it, then it must be true.” Maybe sometimes they are true but if our thoughts and beliefs might be distorted then it’s more than possible that our emotions can be distorted as well.

For example, I feel really guilty about something I did .... therefore I must be a bad person. Or I feel absolutely hopeless about my life .... therefore it’s obvious that my problems are not solvable.

We have to learn to challenge our feelings, to dig deep and find out where they are coming from, and to understand that our feelings may not reflect the truth about something. Also, our feelings often come from the past, especially childhood. They come from what we learned or how we felt when we were young. Those feelings were based on what we believed then and we are still applying those beliefs to now, when we are an adult and have learned so much about life. Children’s beliefs are not always grounded in truth especially if they have no way of checking them out.

Bottom line – don’t believe everything you feel. Don’t take it as fact but investigate and challenge those feelings.

And try applying this ....

“I feel guilty about a mistake I made. It makes me think I am a bad person. But am I really?” or

“I feel like my problem is just not solvable. It makes me think that all my problems are unsolvable and that my life is hopeless. But is it really? Are all my problems not solvable?”