Overcoming excessive guilt
Feeling guilty is not a bad thing. In fact, it is one of the good signs that you have a conscience. Guilt, however, should not be overpowering. How do you cope with excessive guilt? MWERETI KANJO digs around for the answers.
Feeling guilty is a sign of the human nature in us. Its main purpose is to let us know when we have done something wrong and basically to help us develop a better understanding of how we behave in different situations. Guilt is a warning sign that shows us how our behaviour affects us and those around us.
One will only feel guilty if their actions have resulted in a negative consequence. To feel guilty, our act does not have to be at extremes. In fact, it is amazing how quickly we can feel guilty over the smallest and sometimes most meaningless things in our lives. Guilt can be thought of as a correction measure because surely you will not do the same thing twice after feeling guilty.
However, guilt comes with depression and a whole lot of other negative emotions that can eat up the flesh and get in the way of your life. So, just how do you deal with excessive guilt?
Psychologist, Eric Umar says the most important thing is to establish the major foundations of the guilt. He says sometimes guilt causes other emotional problems which may result in more problems in your life.
“You have to establish what is causing that guilt. After you are able to pinpoint the cause, you have to make a connection to that cause. The next step is to really evaluate whether there is something else that you could have done in the situation that you found yourself.
“Should you find that there was another option regarding the action that you took, accept the situation you are in. Know that there is little you can do to change whatever happened. After acceptance, you need a strong will to move on. Without this, you will change so little,” cautions Umar.
Pastor Joseph Ziba of Fountain of Victory Church says guilt comes because of condemnation and it is the devil that sends condemnation. Once you realise that condemnation is the work of the devil and not the Holy Spirit, begin to meditate on the opposite of condemnation.
“Look at and think about what God speaks about you. When you understand what God speaks about you, you will begin to realise that it is love. God is love and he loves you even when you have done something wrong. You will be surprised at how strong God’s love for you is,” says Ziba.
