Emotional Logic Errors: How Guilt and Anxiety Distort Decision-Making

Emotional decision making: how guilt and anxiety skew choices and create powerful cognitive biases Unique deep-dive into emotional reasoning, anxiety and overthinking, and guilt-driven decisions using neuroscience and decision making psychology Learn how emotions affect decisions and get practical tools for overcoming anxiety in decision making without ignoring your feelings

What You'll Learn:

• Spot the two core emotional logic errors—“If I feel bad, I must act” (Affective Imperative) and “If I feel anxious, the deadline must be now” (Urgency Fusion).
• Recognize when guilt and anxiety are acting as ‘false signal lights’ in your brain, so you can pause instead of reacting on autopilot.
• Use a simple 3-step check-in (Body–Brain–Beliefs) to tell the difference between a real problem and an emotional hijack.
• Apply basic neuroscience (amygdala vs. prefrontal cortex) to understand what’s happening when you spiral into anxiety and overthinking.
• Rewrite guilt-driven decisions by asking targeted questions that separate actual responsibility from imagined obligation.
• Build a 60-second reset routine you can use in the moment to calm emotional surges before making important choices.
• Map one current decision in your life and walk it through a practical “emotion-aware” decision-making framework.
• Turn insights into action by choosing one tiny, low-risk experiment this week to practice healthier emotional decision making.