GUILT

WHEN FEEL GUILTY

A ‘guilt complex’ (more correctly referred to as ‘false guilt’) ‘happens when we feel at blame even when we aren’t sure we did anything wrong. It looks like: constantly worrying you’ve upset others always analysing if you could have done things better feeling guilty for things you didn’t even actually do or for simply having bad thoughts taking responsibility if others are in a bad mood using the terms ‘should have’ and ‘could have’ often letting one small thing that went wrong turn into a day of intense self-criticism a constant belief that if things are not going well, it’s down to something you must have said or done blaming others or practising psychological projection (a defence mechanism against guilt) feeling bad not just for what you might have done, but for who you are.

It was found that those who experienced childhood guilt had lower volumes in the area of the brain involved with self-perception. This means lower self-esteem, one of the main triggers of depression. (Read more in our connected article, Guilt and Depression). Guilt is also a contributing factor to: obsessive compulsive disorder anxiety and anxiety disorders self-harm anxiety and anxiety disorders sleep disorders fear of intimacy and problematic relationships. And guilt often comes hand-in-hand with hidden layers of shame, an emotion that can rule our days.