Effective Parenting -367 Overcoming Guilt in Depression “There is a voice that says I’m doing something terribly wrong and that I’m a horrible person. If you also have depression, you, probably have a list everything from not cleaning the house to letting her kids eat more candy to worrying too much to being overly candid with her writing to overeating.. And you, probably can relate to the gnawing, stubborn and heavy weight of guilt. It’s guilt that can lead to self-doubt or even self-harm. For me, guilt sparks insecurity, indecision and even poor decisions. “It colors my decisions and my conversations and I’m always second-guessing myself.” Depression dampens a person’s reasoning and problem-solving functions. “This is why a person can feel unrealistically negative about himself, feel guilty or responsible for things that he might not truly believe if the depression wasn’t active.” 5 Tips to Help Chip Away at Your Guilt Of course, guilt isn’t something that simply dissolves with several quick fixes. But you can slowly chip away at your guilt. The below tips may help. 1. Move your body. “Getting physical will lower cortisol, increase endorphin flow and awaken your senses.” It also helps people with depression think more clearly and feel better overall. 2. Shift your thoughts. “Feelings of guilt can set a depressed individual into a cycle of negative thinking; each thought worsening into a deeper, more hopeless frame of thinking,”. That’s why working on your thoughts is key. We suggest revising negative thoughts into positive thoughts or using positive imagery. For examples such as, “I can do this,” or “I’m light and floating on blue beautiful water.” 3. Remember guilty thoughts are not facts. It will helpful to remind yourself that your guilt is just a voice. “Once you say, ‘Oh, there’s the guilt,’ you can put some distance between you and the guilt.” 4. Try humor. Humor can lighten the heaviness. For instance, we refer to guilt as “our ‘mini-Vatican’ or something like that. I always laugh when my doctor reminds me that, of all the depressive symptoms I have, guilt will probably be the last to leave me.” 5. Try visualization technique. “imagine yourself driving a car along the highway. Whenever you get one of those guilty thoughts, my car is out of alignment…it’s dragging right. So you pull over and assess the problem. you check to see if you need to make any adjustments. If you stole something, you should give it back. If you wronged someone, you need to make amends. Then you merge back on to the highway. Each time your car wants to rear off the main drive, you should ask yourself, Is there something you need to do? If not, you need to get your car back on the road. For many people with depression, guilt is a real and stubborn symptom. It manipulates the facts and exacerbates your mood. But while guilt can be persistent and overwhelming, it also can be managed and minimized.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 01:16:01 +0000
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