Let’s Revisit Guilt
I was reading an article about a discussion about “mum guilt” held in Blackpool sponsored by BBC Five Live. It got me thinking, I am seeing more and more clients with guilt issues as well as having some of my supervisees reporting more and more cases where guilt is a major factor in their client’s issues. So I thought I would revisit guilt in this piece today.
There are many emotions out there which could be considered negative. However, all but one have a positive side to them. Anger can be considered negative, but Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr were angry men, but they turned that anger into positive action.
In my view the only truly negative emotion is guilt as there really is no positive upside to it. Guilt is used to control, guilt is used to dominate, guilt is used to suppress. There are other ways for people to learn from their experiences which do not involve guilt. Some parents use guilt as a quasi means of motivating their children, they only grow up to resent it. If rather than feel guilty, we all take person responsibility for our actions and selves we as a society would be much happier and healthier as a people.
