Self-Invalidation Due To Emotion Scale

Do you punish yourself for your own emotions? Take this scale to find out if it's time to start practicing self-acceptance.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D. | June 20, 2024

Self-invalidation due to emotions refers to the tendency to dismiss or criticize one's own emotional experiences, potentially undermining one's emotional well-being and self-perception. This concept encompasses self-critical beliefs about emotions—such as viewing oneself as weak for experiencing certain feelings—or feeling inadequate due to emotional responses. It also includes beliefs about the controllability and appropriateness of one's emotional reactions.

Understanding and addressing self-invalidation due to emotions is crucial for fostering emotional resilience and well-being. By identifying and challenging these beliefs, individuals can cultivate a more compassionate and accepting attitude towards their emotional experiences. This, in turn, can lead to improved emotional regulation, enhanced interpersonal relationships, and overall psychological health.

The Self-Invalidation Due to Emotion Scale (SIDES), developed by Regina E. Schreiber and Jennifer C. Veilleux in 2022, offers a systematic way to measure these tendencies. With ten statements, the scale assesses various aspects of self-invalidation due to emotions. It provides a structured framework to reflect on and evaluate your attitudes towards your emotional responses. Completing the scale can help you gain valuable insights into how you perceive and manage your emotions, empowering you to take proactive steps towards cultivating a healthier relationship with your emotional experiences.

You can take this test here. Please follow all of the steps to receive your results.

Step 1: Rate the statements below based on how accurate you think they are.

1. My emotions make me a weak person.

2. I ruin relationships with others because of how little emotion I experience.

3. My emotions make me a burden to others.

4. I feel like less of a person because I experience too little emotion.

5. I should be able to "get over" my emotions faster than I do.

6. I am a cold-hearted person because I do not feel a lot of emotion.

7. I do not have a good enough reason to be as emotional as I am.

8. I feel like less of a person because not many things influence me emotionally.

9. I should be more capable of handling my emotions.

10. I am unworthy of love because I am not very emotional.

Step 2: Enter your age, gender, region, and first name so we can provide you with a detailed report that compares your test scores to people similar to you.

What is your age?

What is your gender?

What region of the world do you live in?

What is your first name?

Step 3: Check to make sure you've provided answers to all of the statements/questions above. Once you've done that, click the button below to send your responses to Awake Therapy's Lead Psychologist, Mark Travers, Ph.D. He will provide you with an overview of how you scored relative to others (all answers are anonymized and confidential to protect users' privacy). He can also answer any follow-up questions you may have.

References: Schreiber, R. E., & Veilleux, J. C. (2022). The Self-Invalidation Due to Emotion Scale: Development and psychometric properties. Psychological Assessment, 34 (10), 937–951.