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Humans make mistakes, and it’s the best way to grow. Not all people easily cope up with all the actions that they have done in the past. Some learn from their mistakes, and others fall into deep guilt & regret of their behaviors.
Therefore, their guilt not only affects the emotional activities, but it even becomes a cause of low interest and productivity in life. Here we discuss how to deal with guilt effectively to make better emotional and psychological growth.
12 Practical Tips to Deal with Guilt
You might have noticed, feeling of regret is directly linked with self-judgment and self-criticism that put you deep down inside in the ocean of bad feelings that you have hurt someone badly.
But it can be your strength if you learn how to deal with it efficiently. Some of the effective ways are listed below; that can help you to cope up with the feeling of guilt.
1. Label Your Guilt
Guilt is not less than the worse feeling that can push you towards depressions. And if you are thinking, you can keep it away by ignoring it. Then you need to understand it is not a helpful strategy.
Ignoring your guilt might be effective, but it is a temporary solution to get rid of it. But in a long way, you are compromising your emotions. In this way, you have to address your feeling of guilt and accept your feelings, whether they are pleasant or not.
2. How Your Guilt Originate
Before understanding the feeling of your guilt, you should navigate where it comes from. In other words, take charge of your mistakes that you have made is more important than accepting them.
It is understandable that you have made a mistake and admit those mistakes yourself, but sometimes guilt also comes from the consequences of previous actions that you haven’t done much. Here you unnecessarily blame yourself for the things that are not in your control.
People often feel guilt for matters that are not in their control. For instance, you feel guilty that you broke up with someone who still loves you or you are having a good job, and your fellows could not find it.
Some things are not in your control, so first, understand the original root cause of your guilt that comes out because you have intentionally hurt someone.
When you are feeling guilty or if someone is constantly trying to make you feel regret for your actions, you must follow the following tips to hold yourself;
3. Be Apologetic & Make Changes
People who feel guilty do not feel shame and apologize sincerely. Because staying guilty without making steps that can fix your mistake is a simple way that you are egoistic more than your guilt.
Unfortunately, people who are the slaves of their egos and do not consider a change in actions and behaviors after making mistakes do not deserve forgiveness. One of the best ways to deal with guilt is to apologize sincerely for their hurting behaviors towards others.
This apology and amends will justify the situation of what you have done. And define that you are not responsible for all unintentional actions. In this way, you recognize the level of pain of others, and it will help others to understand your side of emotions.
Moreover, do not feel discouraged if people do not forgive you immediately ask for sorry because sorry do not always mend broken trust. But if you are sorry for your mistakes. It will heal your inner guilt and lighten your burden.
For this, you must acknowledge your role, avoid making excuses and immediately ask for an apology to keep yourself away from worse feelings.
4. Learn From Mistakes
It is natural for people mistakes, and they realize their actions too. But you need to understand that you cannot mend every situation and cannot replace you with every act. It may hurt your close relations and close friends. So this feeling of guilt comes up with sadness over someone and over something you have lost, and it is hard to escape from it.
First, you need to accept your past before leaving it behind, learn from your previous mistakes and try not to do it again in the future that affects others. You can only rearrange the events with different scenarios and outcomes to make a difference based on your learning.
Do consider what pushes you to make the same mistake and try dealing with the core after identifying. Ask yourself what different you can do now? Make your actions clear that truly represent what you are thinking.
5. Make a Writing Habit
Writing can be very effective in analyzing your emotions and thoughts that become a cause of mindfulness. While facing the feeling of guilt, you must develop a habit of writing about what you have done, what is your feeling, and how you can cope up with it. This technique may help you to put out something helpful for future behavior.
Set some time for yourself to restore your positive thoughts, and journalizing emotions may keep you on track. Open your mind and accept your actual feelings that cause guilt, anger, and other emotions that confused your thoughts.
Make out statements that explore curiosity instead of judgment. Because judgments will make you feel more stressed, while you are feeling guilty.
6. Do Consider Self-Compassion Instead of Negative Thoughts
Everyone can make a mistake, and a mistake cannot decide that you are a miserable person. People learn with time and it helps you to grow and polish your mind. Somehow, when you are dealing with the guild, it may exaggerate the thoughts of self-criticism and thoughts of hopelessness.
Instead of shaming, ask yourself for better action in a similar situation like you do for others. Might you think only beneficial steps for others can make a good bond with them? You must take some steps for yourself too. You deserve the same treatment for yourself too.
Give a constant reminder to yourself of your worth to boost your confidence and make it easy to develop thoughts that consider situations objectively.
7. Create Your Standard & Qualities that Help Others
While making statements about better actions, you must write the quality and standard of being a better person for others. This technique can make a difference when you are in anger and dealing with others. Do not make high and ideal standards that can put you in trouble and increase the weight of your guilt.
Most people make such qualities and high standards that force them to do things against their nature and power. In this way, they try to impose the same standard on friends and partners that cause disasters in relationships, and these relationships end up at divorce and breakups.
What should be the better way to make a quality standard they help others instead of forcing?
Choose to develop qualities not only of your interests even consider the interests of others as well, that you can keep focusing on to help others and sacrifice for others. It gives you the strength to deal with guilt.
8. Forgive Yourself
Self-forgiveness is as essential as you forgive others. It is the basic key to self-compassion. When your think that you have made a mistake like other human beings. And fix it yourself, it will help you to forgive yourself and will encourage you to learn from your previous mistakes, instead of being in a trap of guilt.
Furthermore, through self-forgiveness, you will look towards better future actions that will define you. All you need to do is to accept your imperfections.
Self-forgiveness only possible when you take responsibility for your actions. Express your feeling that you are guilty of your actions without feeling shame in it, always get ready for the change in behaviors for improvements, and be true to yourself.
9. How to deal with guilt Just Be Thankful
First of all, practice gratitude whenever you face challenges in life. It is normal to feel guilty or emotionally distrustful. We all can be in such a bad emotional phase. Similarly, you can contrast with others. You will never like to see your close people in the same state of guilt and will always there to help them struggling with it.
This thought will let you free to ask for help from them, share your problems and thought. You can practice different emotions by thanking your close ones for their concern towards you.
You can clear what you need to appreciate. And take all possible opportunities that can help you keep yourself out of it, and try committing the same support for others after coping with guilt.
10. Guilt Can Work Positively
Having guilt for mistakes that you have experienced means you are still want to be a better person and have a space for variations. It alarms you to see your personal choices? And what are the values you need to think about? This conflict lightens up the places of your choice that you have never discovered yet.
This tool will further stop you from being a disaster of emotions, by keeping you honest to yourself and with others. In this way, you get to know all that you need and what others from you and help you to take steps to address the circumstances that can create possible outcomes you want.
Regret is a sign that you still have empathy for others and you made a mistake, not intending to hurt others. This reconsideration of thoughts will make you realize what to do next and avoiding these mistakes.
11. Talk to the People of Your Interest
Guilt is one thing where people feel hesitant, they feel uncomfortable talking about what they have done, and it is natural. But if you isolate yourself with your guilt it only comes out with worse effects. This isolation and loneliness can complicate the healing process more than you think.
Stop worrying about the people that they will judge you because of your actions, and after hearing your views and emotions, they will change their view, and you will get their immense support.
Your close friends or family are those who care about you and are those who generally offer kindness and compassion. So sharing an unpleasant feeling with them make you feel more relax and encourage.
12. Take a Professional Support
Always remember, if you do not treat your illness on time. Whether it is physical or mental, it will end up with uncontrollable outcomes. This persistence of guilt does not always lift easily.
So do not hesitate to talk to the therapist before it getting worse. It may lead to depression and other mental behaviors. It is often hard to open your heart to the unknown person that listens to you without judging your condition and personality.
However, feel free and to ask for help. If you avoid the situation, you get into a poor situation. Over time it may lead to depression and start affecting your daily life and relationships.
Conclusion on how to deal with guilt
It is not easy to deal with guilt. We can naturally feel bad about mistakes from our past, when we may have done bad things or unintentionally (or perhaps intentionally) hurt others.
If you hide your negative thoughts and emotions, it only associates and encourages guilt negatively. And guilt will lead you towards depression and other severe health issues. You need to remember this guilt belongs to the past you need to begin with a new start by letting it go with confidence and better choices.
Whenever you are struggling with feeling guilty, it is okay to take help from others. Learn to accept your imperfections and take professional support that creates your personal space to learn how to deal with your mistakes and move on in life.
Hopefully this post has given you some ideas on how to deal with guilt. Your guilt often gets blown up in your mind’s eye, making it seem worse than it likely is. If you are holding on to guilt, I have three simple words for you: LET IT GO!
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