Is guilt a good thing?

Question

Is guilt a good thing?

Answer 1

In many ways yes. Without it we are total animals without any remorse. We could do anything without feeling anything.  

Answer 2

Yes ... It teaches you not to repeat your mistakes .

Answer 3

In small doses it helps remember the pain of a bad mistake. Like anything else though, too much of a "good" thing is bad so continuing to feel guilty after you've learned the lesson is a waste of time and your life.

Answer 4

It shows you have a conscience..

Answer 5

Definitely not!  

Answer 6

no

Answer 7

no nottt at alll

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Answer 8

It shows you aren't heartless. As long as you know what you did to cause guilt and you try to fix it/ or it's the right thing, it's not a good thing but it's not bad either.

It's bad NOT to have guilt

Answer 9

It depends on a good or bad guilt if bad no if good yes

Answer 10

I don't think so.  When you feel guilty you are much more apt to do something for someone that you really don't want to, because of the "guilt".  Alot of people really try hard to make a person feel guilty and succeed, but only if you let them.  Think things through, and decide if the guilty feeling is warrented, if so, apologize, but don't let someone guilt you into something.  It is just wrong.

Answer 11

Yepp.

Natural punishment.

Answer 12

i think its good people feel guilty if they do something wrong - then they will fess up and make it right.

Answer 13

For a war criminal,yes.For forgetting to buy a xmas card,no.

Answer 14

no. it causes stress and suicide. love is enough. it keeps you from doing things that require guilt afterwards.

Answer 15

it just means you got a conscience:)

Answer 16

no, not really. but people tend to have that feeling within them. so, i think that they should deal with whatever the situation is and it will come out fine or bad, but the guilt will be gone. it depends really on the person. i deal with guilt a lot but then it's just LIFE. and if it doesn't kill you, it's just life.  

Answer 17

It can remind you that you have done something wrong, judged by your conscience.

If you don't have much guilt, then you don't have much sense of conscience.

It does "feel" negative, but it can be 'good'.

Answer 18

Yes, it is  it keeps us human and helps us care for each other  feelings  

Answer 19

no way you should put it right

Answer 20

Definitely, for without a conscience guiding our actions, we would be no better than the animals.

Answer 21

why would you ask?  Did I do something wrong?

Answer 22

Absolutely, it shows you have a conscience. When we do things that go against our conscience, it produces guilt. Once you rectify the problem, the guilt goes away. Well, it's really not quite that simple, it really depends on what you're feeling guilty about. My answer is yes. If we didn't experience guilt we'd all be psychopaths.

Answer 23

Guilt isn't the worst thing in the whole world.  Think of guilt as the curbs on each side of the street.  As you make your way through life, sometimes we do risky and dumb things and those things put us off  path.  The curb (guilt) helps us stay on the street and moving forward.  In this way, fearing guilt keeps us from getting to far from the "right path"  

But that same guilt that is helpful can be really harmful too.  Maybe we feel so guilty about things that are simply "the nature of being human" : Like lusting after someone.   Well that same fear of guilt can make a person anti-social.  If too anti-social, a person may be harmful to self and others; not knowing how to interact with another person, not being practiced in socializing.  

Keep yourself in check.  Sometimes its better to gain perspective on your feelings.  But people with a lot of guilt want to be sure that talking about them to someone else won't implicates them as being wierd or an outcast.

But in order to stay away from repressing guilt, you must talk to someone about the stuff that causes guilt: There really is, honestly, so little one can think about that hasn't been thought about before.  Deep dark stuff.  So let someone help you understand your thoughts.  But only talk to someone you trust.  Preferably someone older.  Maybe a pastor or teacher (someone trained in Keeping Confidence). Someone who would listen and not share your private thoughts to others.

Answer 24

Well, guilt is a horrible emotion to expeirence. But it teaches you right from wrong and that you should do better in the future. Guilt also (most of the time) gets u to do the right thing about a bad situation in the future. I live by an awesome saying and it goes like this:

  Don't let a mark from the past put a stain on your future!

:-D