“Guilt is to the spirit what pain is to the body”- Elder David A Bednar
Guilt is something that we all struggle with and yes, it can be difficult at times. Let’s try to understand guilt a little better. So, what is guilt? Well according to the American Psychological Association guilt is defined as “self-conscious emotion characterized by a painful appraisal of having done (or thought) something that is wrong and often by a readiness to take action designed to undo or mitigate this wrong.” But have you ever wondered from where is the guilt actually coming from? Guilt is an emotion that we experience when we feel that we have not met a particular standard.
When it comes to guilt there are two types of guilt; the healthy guilt and the unhealthy guilt. Healthy guilt is the rational guilt we experience when we realize that we have not done the right thing. For example, feeling guilty for not completing a project. Unhealthy guilt on the other hand it the guilt that a person experiences for something that they did not do. A person feels guilty for something that not really their fault and where the person has no control over the situations. For example, a child blames herself for the death for a pet, even though the pet was not well and passed away due to sickness. Another type of guilt that a person may experience is “survivor’s guilt”. For example, during the pandemic many individuals lost their lives due to Covid, and the people so were left behind experienced survivor’s guilt.
So how can we effectively deal with guilt?
1. Say it Out Loud: One of the first steps you can take to deal effectively with guilt, is
acknowledge the guilt. Name the emotion you are feeling.
2. Root Cause: Explore and identify from the where the guilt is coming from? For
example, when you have a good and stable job but your close friend does not have a
job.
3. Making Amends: Sometimes it is important to own up to our mistakes. It is a good
choice to stop and think and apologise. An honest apology will go a long way and
helps you heal as a person.
4. Being Thankful: Sometimes we feel guilty when we don’t have something or we may
feel guilty for not doing something. Taking time to be thankful and being grateful can
help us to feel less guilty. For example, you can maintain a gratitude journal which
would help you practice every day.
5. Insightful Past: We can learn a lot from the past, but we can’t change it. Some of the
questions you can ask yourself from a past event are;
- What caused my mistake?
- What would you differently now?
- Is there anything that you can work on?
You can let go your guilt, can you do it today by taking that first step…
Comments