Guilt, anxiety, and depression are three best friends. They study in different classes of the same school named Mental Health. But how do they exactly go together? Read on to find out.
Let us start by answering what is guilt. Guilt is a feeling of being responsible for something wrong done by a person, intentionally or accidentally. Feeling guilty can bring unprecedented stress and anxiety for some and feelings of remorse and atonement for some.
Guilt is healthy and productive at times. But it can be unhealthy and destructive too. It depends on the truth of the situation. A person feeling guilty after committing a mistake is healthy as it is an indication of self-realization. This helps the person to correct the mistakes and shows that they have prudent morals. When the guilt is induced intentionally it is known as guilt-tripping. Guilt-tripping is similar to gaslighting a person to believe they are the ones responsible and are at fault. It is unhealthy as this guilt gnaws a person completely and hollows the ability of introspection and self-analysis.
A person feeling guilty can experience a variety of things physically. Guilt is followed by a great state of nervous tension. This leads to queer sensations, tingling, twitching in the fingers or entire body automatically. The whole body may seem to vibrate for no apparent reason. All these are the symptoms triggered by guilt-induced anxiety. The guilt-anxiety-depression runs like an endless loop of a vicious circle that is hard to break.
This way the guilt-anxiety-depression circle engulfs people. There are a few tips worth mentioning to overcome guilt.
i. Accept and Confess- If you've made a mistake, it is always better to accept your mistake or confess the thing you did wrong. This makes you reduce the guilt as you have accepted your fault and you can convince that you are feeling guilty for whatever happened. It also helps you to be honest with yourself and others around you.
ii. Talk about it- After confessing, tell the hurt person that you want to talk about it. Do not try to defend yourselves at this point. Just express how guilty you feel and that you want to repair your mistake.
iii. Make amends immediately- As soon as you've accepted the guilt, make changes to your behavior or working pattern right after. This will check that you do not commit the same mistake or similar mistakes again. Also, making amendments to what was wrong helps to initiate building trust. Changing your erring behavior will be the best atonement to the mistake committed.
iv. Practice mindfulness- The swirling thoughts of guilt won't allow you to focus anywhere. Instead of giving in to the feelings that engulf you with guilt, try to be mindful in each activity you do. Be it as simple as brushing your teeth, try to cover each nook and corner of the mouth. This will divert your attention elsewhere and keep the guilty feeling at bay.
v. Have faith- After you've done with the above tips, just have faith in yourself and the person you've hurt. Also, have faith in god. Promise your soul wholeheartedly and the hurt that you will never repeat the same. Give them and yourselves time to heal and forgive while you keep patience.
Done everything that you could do, even if guilty or not, you can simply leave everything in the hands of the almighty. Practicing spirituality will help to ground the feelings of having sinned. Leaving everything to time and universe with an honest and sincere desire to atone will answer your silent prayers eventually.