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guilt trip
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The guilt trip

Excessive guilt affects one's mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. But a little bit of it prompts us to do good for ourselves. So, how do we manage guilt effectively?

“As for the errors I make, the only punishment I acknowledge for having made them is my awareness of those errors, and having to live with it…,” writes Lebanese writer Joumana Haddad in her book I Killed Scheherazade: Confessions of an Angry Arab Woman. Living with such an awareness is certainly not easy. It results in a distressing emotion commonly known as guilt.

NASA engineer Robert Ebeling was plagued by guilt after the space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986. He was one among the five booster rocket engineers who worked for NASA contractor Morton Thiokol. In fact, Ebeling was the first one to raise an alarm a day before the launch. Yet, he felt accountable for the mission’s failure and the loss of seven astronauts’ lives. The engineer always felt he could have stopped that fateful launch. This burden led him to retire from an enviable position in NASA and tend to a bird refuge for the remainder of his life.

Clearly, guilt is triggered internally and the victim bears a significant responsibility for his actions. Social psychologist Leon Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance Theory offers some insight into what causes guilt. Festinger says each of us has a deep-rooted idea about who we are and who we ought to be. We almost always strive to become an ideal version of ourselves. But whenever we are faced with a contradiction between our current self and our ideal self, we are internally disturbed. This is termed cognitive dissonance. It causes guilt–a form of mental stress and discomfort. Evidently, the feeling arises when we realise that we have not lived up to our standards. Often, a guilty person feels as if s/he has violated a moral code of conduct.

According to psychologist and founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, many a time our less-than-perfect behaviours eventually become a thing of the past. We too may have noticed that many pangs of the moral conscience heal with time. For instance, a person who has had an extramarital affair or has extorted money from someone may feel shameful and guilty for a significant period. Eventually, s/he comes to terms with it, makes amends and moves on.

Guilt provides clarity as to what is acceptable and not acceptable conduct. A little bit of guilt prompts us to do good for ourselves and others.

Sometimes, like in the case of Ebeling, guilt doesn’t fade away. If left unchecked, Freud’s research reveals, a guilty person may indulge in masochistic practices. He may become self-punishing, or develop unhealthy habits such as drinking, smoking, overeating or even mismanaging money.

Excessive guilt is indeed detrimental to one’s mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. According to the study Moral Emotions and Moral Behavior published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, here is how guilt can motivate someone to be a better person: Firstly, we do not like remorse and hence, we act in such a way that we feel less guilty. Secondly, guilt can help us understand where and how to make behavioural changes. It provides clarity as to what is acceptable and not acceptable conduct. A little bit of guilt prompts us to do good for ourselves and others.

Indeed, guilt is a delicate thread to tread upon. So how do we keep it under check?  How do we ensure that it doesn’t make us feel useless? Psychiatrist Dr David Burns in his book Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy suggests some ways to manage guilt effectively:

Stop magnifying: Many a time, we punish ourselves for our wrongdoings. Often, the severe punishment we award ourselves does not fit our trivial crime.

Us vs our actions: While we are responsible for our actions, it is important to remember that the actions themselves don’t make us bad people.

Self-compassion: Forgiving ourselves make us better. It helps us accountable. On the other hand, branding ourselves bad only makes us act worse.

Apologise: Apologies make a difference. People often prefer a simple ‘sorry’ over any other kind of compensation. But when saying sorry, let’s make sure to apologise for what others think we did wrong. Not what we think we did wrong. We often tend to overthink our mistakes.

Lesson to learn: Mistakes happen. But torturing ourselves doesn’t make us better people. Learning from our mistakes helps us become better individuals.

FAQs

How does guilt affect a person's wellbeing?

Excessive guilt can negatively impact a person’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being. It can cause distressing emotions and mental stress.

How does Sigmund Freud view guilt and its healing process?

According to Sigmund Freud, guilt can linger for a significant period but eventually may heal with time.

How can guilt motivate someone to be a better person?

Guilt can motivate individuals to be better by influencing their behaviour.

1 Comment
  • Mary Chelladurai
    on September 19, 2017 at 11:54 am

    This is a laudable write thank you priankaa ….. I would like to add attitutdes to life . Various people seek refuge in divulging in guilt and remorse and pouring out the same to their close associates. I should have done this or that, endless ranting, All the person wants is re-enforcemnet of self worth, which is damaged with guilt. We are not sure whether we can forgive ourselves and move on or live with guilt and unhappiness leaidng to depression and suicidal tendencies in a few cases. Healing needs time and positive re-enforcement. Grown up children are best at blaming parents and making them feel guilty for having done things wrong in their up-bringing. Listen to this a thirty years old well educated son acuses the father of saying i learnt to scold and tease people like you did to me. I have lost relationships because of this trait, does the young man want the old father to bow down and ask mercies or live with guilt and perish. We cannot induce guilt in others, we have to look at our own behavior and take onus for action. Guilt or remorse for actions can be best dealt with examining ourselves and forgiving ourselves as this article says, deal with guilt in a matured way and work out of this by forgiving yourself,we will be better people and the world will be a better place for our children and their generations. Mary Chelladurai

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