What does Check the Facts mean in DBT?

Check the Facts is a DBT emotion regulation skill. You test whether an emotion, and its intensity, fits what actually happened by separating facts from interpretations and looking for other explanations. If the emotion fits, you solve the problem. If it does not, you use opposite action.

What are the questions in Check the Facts?

What emotion do I feel, and how strong is it? What event set it off? What am I assuming about it? What other explanations are possible? Am I expecting a threat, and how likely is it? Does my emotion, and its intensity, fit the facts?

Is Check the Facts the same as CBT thought challenging?

They are related. Marsha Linehan built DBT as a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (Linehan, Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder, 1993). In the DBT Skills Training Manual (2nd edition, 2015), Check the Facts asks whether an emotion, and its intensity, fits the situation, accepts that it often does, and always ends with an action: problem solving when it fits, opposite action when it does not.

What if my emotion fits the facts?

Then the emotion is giving you useful information. Act on the situation: solve the problem, ask for what you need with DEAR MAN, or practice radical acceptance if the fact cannot be changed. Opposite action is still an option when acting on the emotion would make things worse.

Is there a Check the Facts worksheet?

Yes. The free DBT-Mind emotion regulation worksheet (PDF) walks you through naming the emotion and Check the Facts, then choosing opposite action or problem solving. It is free to print and share. The DBT-Mind app also has a Check the Facts Worksheet as part of Premium.

Emotions and relationships8 min readOctober 23, 2026

Check the Facts (DBT): 6 Steps to Test If an Emotion Fits

By Timo, founder and developer of DBT-Mind

Quick answer

Check the Facts is a DBT emotion regulation skill for testing whether an emotion, and how strong it is, fits what actually happened. You name the emotion and the event that started it, separate facts from your interpretations, look for other explanations and ask whether there is a real threat. If the emotion fits, you solve the problem. If it does not, you use opposite action.

General information about DBT skills. It does not replace therapy, and in an emergency contact your local emergency number or crisis line.

Sometimes a feeling is much bigger than the moment. A friend answers with one word and you feel dropped. A small mistake at work and you want to hide for a week. Check the Facts is the DBT skill for these moments. It does not tell you your feelings are wrong. It helps you find out which part of the feeling belongs to the situation and which part comes from what your mind added to it.

Below: the six steps in plain words, five worked examples (including one where the emotion fits), the questions that help most, and what to do after you have checked. It is written by the team behind DBT-Mind, an app for practicing DBT skills.

The six steps of Check the Facts

Check the Facts is part of the emotion regulation module in DBT (Linehan, DBT Skills Training Manual, 2nd edition, 2015). The steps below follow that manual, in our own words. Write the answers down if you can. Thinking them through only in your head makes it easy to slide back into the story the emotion is telling.

1
Name the emotion. What exactly do I feel, and how strong is it from 0 to 10? "Scared, 8" is more useful than "awful".
2
Describe the event. What happened that set it off? Only what a camera could have recorded: who said or did what, when and where.
3
Spot your interpretations. What am I adding to the facts? Thoughts like "she is angry with me" or "they think I am useless" are guesses about other people’s minds.
4
Look for other explanations. Name at least two other ways to read the same event. You do not have to believe them. You only have to see that they are possible.
5
Check for a threat. Am I expecting something bad to happen? How likely is it really? If it did happen, what is the worst outcome, and how could I cope with it?
6
Ask if it fits. Does my emotion, and its intensity, fit the facts? Often the answer is "partly": the emotion fits, but a 3 out of 10 would fit better than a 9.

If you want a guided version, the DBT-Mind app has a Check the Facts Worksheet that takes you through one situation step by step. It is part of Premium (called Plus in the app). The free emotion regulation worksheet PDF covers the same questions on paper.

Check the Facts examples

Here is what the skill looks like in five everyday situations. Notice the last column: Check the Facts always ends with a next step, not just a new way of thinking.

Five Check the Facts examples, from first reading to next step

Situation	First reading	The facts	Does it fit?	Next step
A friend replies "ok" to a long message	"She is pulling away. I am being left." Fear, 8/10	One short reply on a workday. She answered within an hour. No change in plans.	Not at this strength. Some worry fits, panic does not.	Opposite action: do not send five more messages. Ask about her day tomorrow.
A colleague presents your idea in a meeting	"He did it on purpose to make me look bad." Anger, 7/10	He used your slide and did not name you. You do not know if it was on purpose.	Partly. Being annoyed fits. Revenge does not.	Ask him calmly to credit you next time, for example with [DEAR MAN](/guides/dear-man).
You sent an email with a typo to your team	"Everyone thinks I am stupid." Shame, 9/10	One typo. Nobody mentioned it. People make typos every day.	No. Shame fits when you would really be rejected if people knew. Nobody rejects you for a typo.	Opposite action for shame: stay visible, do not hide or apologize three times.
Waiting for a biopsy result	"Something could be really wrong." Fear, 7/10	The doctor ordered the test because of a real finding. The result comes Friday.	Yes. There is a real unknown about your health.	Problem solving: write down your questions, ask someone to come with you, plan the evening after.
Friends post photos from a dinner you were not invited to	"Nobody likes me." Sadness and hurt, 8/10	Four friends had dinner. One of them invited you to a different event last week.	Partly. Feeling left out fits. "Nobody likes me" does not.	Name the hurt, then reach out to one of them about the next plan.

Examples written by the DBT-Mind team for illustration.

Questions that separate facts from interpretations

Step 3 is the one most people find hardest, because interpretations feel like facts while you are upset. These questions help.

Would a camera record it?
A camera records "he did not say hello". It cannot record "he ignored me on purpose". Anything a camera cannot see is an interpretation.
What would a friend say?
Imagine a calm friend heard the same story. Which part would they question first?
Am I reading a mind?
Words like "she thinks", "they want" or "he meant" usually mark a guess about someone else’s mind.
Am I using all-or-nothing words?
"Always", "never", "everyone" and "nobody" are signs that the emotion is doing the describing.
What happened the last time?
If you felt the same way before, what actually happened then? Past facts are a good check on present fears.

When the emotion fits the facts

Check the Facts is not a way to talk yourself out of every feeling. Sometimes the emotion fits. Fear fits when there is a real threat. Anger fits when someone blocked an important goal or treated you unfairly. Sadness fits a real loss. In that case, DBT says the emotion is giving you useful information, and the next step is to act on the situation, not on the feeling.

Problem solving
Name the problem in one sentence, list a few possible solutions, pick the one most likely to work and do the first small step.
Asking for something
If another person needs to change something, plan the conversation with DEAR MAN.
Accepting what cannot change
If the fact is real and cannot be changed (a loss, a decision already made), radical acceptance is the better tool.

When it does not fit: opposite action

If the emotion does not fit the facts, or it fits but acting on it would make things worse, DBT uses opposite action: you do the opposite of what the emotion pushes you to do, fully, with your body, face and voice. The emotion regulation guide explains it in more detail.

Common emotions, their urges and the opposite action

Emotion	It pushes you to	Opposite action
Fear	Avoid, escape, check again and again	Approach what you fear, step by step, and stay
Anger	Attack, shout, send the angry text	Step away for a while, or be kind; unclench your hands, soften your voice
Sadness	Withdraw, stay in bed	Get active, see people, do one thing you used to enjoy
Shame (when it does not fit)	Hide, avoid people, over-apologize	Stay visible, share it with someone safe, keep your head up

Based on Linehan, DBT Skills Training Manual, 2nd edition (2015). Wording ours.

When not to use Check the Facts

Check the Facts needs a thinking brain. At 8 out of 10 or higher, the facts are hard to see. Calm your body first with the TIPP skill or pause with the STOP skill, then come back to the questions when the wave has passed.

Some feelings come from old trauma and can feel just as strong when the present situation is safe. Checking the facts can help there too, but it works best with a therapist who knows your history. If you feel unsafe or think about hurting yourself, do not try to reason it out alone: call 988 (US), 112 (EU) or your local crisis line.

It also helps to track how often you check the facts and what you find. A DBT diary card shows you over a few weeks which interpretations keep coming back. Those are good topics to bring to therapy or to look at from wise mind.

Practice it in DBT-Mind

Practicing Check the Facts in DBT-Mind

DBT-Mind is a free DBT app for iOS and Android with a skills library, diary card and journal, and a crisis hub. Check the Facts shows up in a few places.

1Name the emotion first: a mood check-in or a short journal entry is free and takes a minute.
2Open the Check the Facts Worksheet in the Worksheets tab when one situation keeps eating at you, and work through it step by step. The worksheet is part of Premium.
3Practice emotion regulation in the Journey tab. The Emotion Regulation path includes 24 practice scenarios. The first stage of one path is free; later stages are part of Premium.
4If the same trigger keeps coming back, do a chain analysis to see the whole pattern. Three chain analyses a month are free.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

The Worksheets tab in the DBT-Mind app, home of the Check the Facts Worksheet

Frequently asked questions

What does Check the Facts mean in DBT?: Check the Facts is a DBT emotion regulation skill. You test whether an emotion, and its intensity, fits what actually happened by separating facts from interpretations and looking for other explanations. If the emotion fits, you solve the problem. If it does not, you use opposite action.
What are the questions in Check the Facts?: What emotion do I feel, and how strong is it? What event set it off? What am I assuming about it? What other explanations are possible? Am I expecting a threat, and how likely is it? Does my emotion, and its intensity, fit the facts?
Is Check the Facts the same as CBT thought challenging?: They are related. Marsha Linehan built DBT as a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (Linehan, Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder, 1993). In the DBT Skills Training Manual (2nd edition, 2015), Check the Facts asks whether an emotion, and its intensity, fits the situation, accepts that it often does, and always ends with an action: problem solving when it fits, opposite action when it does not.
What if my emotion fits the facts?: Then the emotion is giving you useful information. Act on the situation: solve the problem, ask for what you need with DEAR MAN, or practice radical acceptance if the fact cannot be changed. Opposite action is still an option when acting on the emotion would make things worse.
Is there a Check the Facts worksheet?: Yes. The free DBT-Mind emotion regulation worksheet (PDF) walks you through naming the emotion and Check the Facts, then choosing opposite action or problem solving. It is free to print and share. The DBT-Mind app also has a Check the Facts Worksheet as part of Premium.

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