A Bitter Taste Of Guilt...

I have been reading various articles on how best to deal with guilt and I came across a lovely one. at first I wanted to study various write-ups, then come up with my own ways of dealing with guilt but this article(http://www.wikihow.com/Deal-with-Guilt)  did so much justice in  such a simple way that I just though it wise to post the whole thing word for word. I hope it helps you as it did me too.

Steps to Deal with Guilt

STEP 1
Try to figure out why you feel guilty:Grab a pen and notebook, and write down a list of things that could be making you feel this way. It might be difficult, but eventually you will figure out what is making you guilty. If you can't figure it out, try this approach: Consider each thing on your list and imagine if you had not done it. If you immediately feel better or wistful, this is probably the thing which is making you guilty.

STEP 2
Rate your guilt: This might sound stupid, but it can really help. Out of ten, make two ratings: How bad the thing is that you've done, and how guilty you feel. After this, think about why what you did was bad, and why you feel guilty about it. This should hopefully leave your mind a little clearer, and allows you to think rationally about the source of the guilt.

STEP 3:
Consider what you are going to do. If the guilt you feel is over something like being nasty to someone or neglecting a job or pet, feel reassured in the fact that you can do something about this. Write down what you're going to do, consider when and where, and take action. If your guilt is for something like a persons' death or a friend getting angry, acknowledge that it is not your fault, and it's natural to feel this way. Do something to relax and forget about it. It's not worth feeling guilty over insurmountable predicaments: nothing can be done and you will waste your life.

STEP 4: 
Once you get a better idea of why you feel guilty, don't run from it; If needed, you may seek help from friends you trust, or even professionals to shed some light on your situation. Chances are unless you have committed a serious crime you may have nothing to feel guilty about. In fact you may find out that someone else has been feeding you lies.

STEP 5:
Learn to forgive the person that hurt you or forgive yourself for the pain you have been holding on to. It's the only way to go in order to achieve acceptance, which is a very important aspect of eliminating guilt.

NOTE: Guilt is a terrible emotion to live with, particularly if it is intense, growing and living with you every day. Although some guilt in certain situations is natural and at times, healthy but when guilt starts to interfere with your daily life and usual routine, there is a serious problem.

Tips

• This will take time, and it will hurt a lot, but in the long run it will be so much better.
• Everyone messes up sometimes. If the person that you committed the wrong to is your friend, they will forgive you in time.
• Sometimes you may just have a lot of anger built up inside you. Do something to release your anger.
• Stop beating yourself up! It's not necessarily your fault if something happens.
• Live with it. You carried out the action, so live with the consequence. Many do.