How to Overcome Excessive Guilt

People start feeling guilt at the early age of three and continue with guilty feelings throughout their lives. While a healthy amount of guilt helps to guide the moral compass, excessive guilt has negative mental and social impacts. Unlike shame, which results from the opinions of others, guilt stems from self-imposed expectations. With the various types and negative effects of guilt, finding ways to overcome it can greatly improve your quality of life.

Effects of Guilt

• Guilt typically acts as a guide when facing important life choices. Unfortunately, excessive guilt forces people to withdraw from society and self loathe. Guilt can impact relationships by creating a distance between you and the person you feel guilty toward. With guilt attached to personal issues, such as parenting, food or money, people tend to deprive themselves of deserved items because they don't feel worthy. Realizing the line between healthy and excessive guilt will allow you to exercise your conscience without abusing yourself.

Reactive Guilt

• Reactive guilt occurs when a person behaves contrary to their ideas of right and wrong. This includes a wide range of offenses depending on the person's moral code, such as cursing, shoplifting, adultery and overeating. To overcome guilt related to actions, first make sure to have realistic expectations of yourself. Stay true to your own values rather than adopting or adapting to someone's expectations of you. When you feel extreme guilt, try expressing that guilt to someone you trust. By getting the guilt out in the open and gaining a valuable opinion, you help to relieve yourself of anxiety.

Anticipatory Guilt

• Anticipatory guilt involves feeling bad about an action that hasn't yet occurred. While this type of guilt prevents people from committing crimes and making harmful choices, it can also hinder them from living a satisfying life. Using laws and norms from your community, family and church will help you to reasonably anticipate guilt. Many people feel unreasonable anticipatory guilt when planning to indulge themselves. Determining whether or not your plans justify excessive guilt will help you to make the right decision without feeling guilty.

Existensial Guilt

• People experience existensial guilt when they feel unworthy of their rewards in life compared to the plight of others. Excessive existensial guilt makes it difficult to enjoy life and socialize with others. To overcome this guilt, use what resources you can to serve the less fortunate people around you. Giving back and helping others will ease the guilt you feel for having what they don't. Displaying empathy for those around you can replace guilt with pride.