Guilt

Guilt

Parents

Guilty for being angry at them as a child and teenager

Guilty because I could see they were like lost children and I could see their brokenness. I was angry but I felt like my anger exposed who they really were and that made me feel guilty.

My father has a lot of guilt and that makes me feel guilty.

When I was a kid and would become religious they would tell me how proud they were but then I would feel guilty because I was leaving them behind. I felt like they were going to Hell and I wasn’t. So I would purposefully try to stop being so “good” so that I didn’t have to feel guilty.

My Husband

I felt guilty for divorcing him. He was so dependent on me I felt like I had abandoned a child. At first the guilt was more than I could bear and almost destroyed me. Only after finding out he cheated on me twice (I found this out 3 years after our divorce) could I completely let go of my guilt.

Most Recent Ex

Very similar to my parents. I felt guilty that I may not be in love with him. I felt guilty for recognizing his brokenness. It made me feel sorry for him and I tried to protect him from seeing who he really was. I felt guilty for breaking up with him even though he had physically and emotionally abandoned me.

I feel guilty for moving on because I feel that if I find someone who meets my needs it will be a validation of how broken he was.

Others

I felt and feel guilty for avoiding my grandmother as a teen and adult and for not emotionally engaging with her. She often tried to manipulate me with guilt.

I have felt guilty for avoiding friends and co-workers and students when they needed my emotional engagement

I have guilt for not keeping in touch with my former step son and for divorcing his father

I often feel guilt at work for not being productive enough