Emotional Reasoning is a common cognitive distortion where people accept their emotions as facts, thinking "I feel it, so it must be true." This means making decisions or believing something is true based on how you feel, rather than on actual facts or evidence.
Here's an example:
Example: "I feel like my boss doesn't like me, so I'm sure I'm going to get fired."
Emotional Reasoning: In this example, the person is accepting their feeling of being disliked as fact, without considering any actual evidence or facts.
Reframe (without Emotional Reasoning): "I've been feeling anxious about my job lately, but I haven't received any negative feedback from my boss. I'll focus on my performance and wait for actual feedback before jumping to conclusions."
In the reframed version, the person acknowledges their feelings, but separates them from facts and focuses on objective evidence (or lack thereof) to make a more rational assessment.