Emotion Regulation · DBT skill
Check the Facts
Check the Facts is asking whether an emotion, and how intense it is, fits the actual facts of the situation rather than your interpretation of them.
The steps
- What's the prompting event? Just the facts, no interpretation.
- What's my interpretation? List the assumptions I'm making.
- What are the alternative interpretations? Is each one possible?
- What's the actual threat? How likely is the worst-case I'm imagining?
- Decide: emotion fits → solve or tolerate. Doesn't fit → Opposite Action.
When it helps
When a feeling is big and you're not sure if it fits.
An example
A coworker walks past without saying hello and you feel a wave of hurt and the thought "she's angry at me." You list the facts: she walked by quickly, carrying files, looking at her phone. Other explanations fit just as well, so the hurt shrinks and you decide to say hi at lunch.
Where people get stuck
- Mixing facts with interpretations. "She ignored me" is an interpretation; "she walked past without speaking" is a fact.
- Checking whether the emotion fits, but not its intensity. Mild annoyance can fit a situation that doesn't justify rage.
- Using it to argue yourself out of a valid emotion. If the emotion fits the facts, the next step is solving the problem, not talking yourself out of the feeling.
When not to use it
When you're too flooded to think clearly. Bring the intensity down first, for example with TIPP, then check the facts.
Related skills
- Read the full explainer on our blog →
- DBT glossary →
- How DBT skills groups teach Emotion Regulation →
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