Is guilt running or ruining your life? It could be and you may not even realize it. Guilt is a normal healthy human emotion that we will all experience at some point in our lifetime, so feeling remorseful or guilty over your actions that have hurt someone is a normal reaction.
Generally speaking, if a person has no remorse or empathy for their negative or hurtful actions then this could be a sign of a more serious diagnosis such as psychopaths and sociopaths carry. Both are known to show no remorse, sympathy or apathy for anything or anyone unless it suits them at the time. Then sadly their acts of remorse are just that, an act. They have no conscious or fear consequences for their actions.
Guilt comes from doing something intentionally wrong and knowing your hurting someone and choosing to do it anyway and then comes regret afterward.
The worst kind of guilt is when these feelings keep you focused on the past and the guilt or remorse your feeling paralyzes you and can actually make a person susceptible to depression, substance abuse or many other painful addictions that can and will ruin your life. Set yourself free. You are worth it!
Your guilt must be addressed correctly and by doing so this will help you move past it and start the healing process from these painful feelings that are dragging you down and destroying your life.
Here are some things to focus on when you are in the process of freeing yourself from any guilt or shame you are feeling.
- First of all, forgive yourself and that may be the hardest thing to do
- Try starting a daily meditation on setting yourself free of guilt and burdens you are carrying
- Search yourself and see what is causing you to feel this guilt or shame your carrying
- Stop torturing yourself with past regrets
- If possible seek out the person to whom you have caused harm to. If this person is dead or not receptive to your apologies you can write a letter to this person but do not send it. For instance, you can have a small ceremony and destroy the letter. However, you choose to do it (this may sound a bit strange but it helps) then try to not to make the same mistakes again
- Do not magnify your guilt, stop yourself from repeating your feelings of guilt again and again
- Start a journal, it will help you when you go back and reflect on your process of forgiveness and self-healing
- Ridding yourself of guilt can make you a better person, feeling bad about yourself destroys your self-esteem and has negative consequences
- If you’re a believer you can focus on our savior and heal yourself. God does not want us to live in shame and guilt that destroys our lives. God wants us to live in peace and learn from our mistakes and not repeat them
Unlike the negatives mentioned above, there can be some positives for people having a tendency to feel more guilt than someone who doesn’t. These people seem to be more sympathetic, less apt to steal, lie or cheat because they have a higher standard of remorse than a person who is more careless of their actions. Also, people that feel more guilt are more likely to be able to put themselves in the others shoes and be a more sympathetic partner, boss or parent. In other words, guilt serves as a powerful tool that can police possibly bad behavior.
Good luck on your Journey of living guilt free, you got this!