It’s a hard distinction, so many times I feel they overlap. However, the truth is that there is a significant difference between guilt and shame.
Guilt says I did something wrong.
Shame says I am bad because I did something wrong.
Guilt refers to the action, shame to the person. As I stated at the beginning, sometimes I feel they overlap. It is easy to let the volume of negative self-talk rise in the blame game.
I must take a step back and remind myself of the difference.
- I am not bad; I made a bad choice.
- I made a mistake; that doesn’t mean I am a mistake.
How do you respond to guilt and shame? How do you separate the two?
If you are comfortable doing so, share your thoughts below.