Defense Mechanism: Rationalization

Rationalization and intellectualization are very similar. You can read about intellectualization here. But, where intellectualization removes the emotional aspects of a situation and leans into the thinking aspects, rationalization is when a person leans heavily into rationalizing and leaning into the logical aspects of a situation. Rationalizing is used as a defense mechanism during times of stress or heightened emotional or interpersonal conflict.

Examples include: Explaining a bad mood away as the cause of a bad night of sleep. Getting turned down for a job you wanted, and rationalizing it by pointing out all the things about the job you didn’t like. Staying in an abusive relationship by only recalling the good aspects of the relationship.

Stay attuned to times when you dismiss your emotional experiences and “explain the emotions away.” If you find this happening, lean into what’s going on and explore if there is the potential for stress that you’re avoiding or heightened emotional responses that you’re avoiding.