Chronic Guilt

[Jenn_is_Jenning]

Does anyone else have issues with their anxiety manifesting as chronic guilt ?

I can honestly say that 95 percent of my time is spent feeling guilt as my most dominant emotion.

I feel guilty if I made a mistake at work, if I had an off workout , if I expressed any frustration towards someone else.
If I wasn't anything other that chipper for the entire day I'll dwell on how I acted. I'll apologize for having a frustrated tone in my voice , and desperately seek forgiveness for nothing .

I cant even allow myself to be moody around my son because id feel massively guilty. He has his days though...

Guilt if I spend money, or eat junk food. Sit too long or have an extra planned rest day.

All damn day I tells ya.

Is anyone else this hard on themselves?

 

[JackDMegalomaniac]

This might not be the answer your looking for, but we arnt the people you should be asking. In my experience it really helps to see a therapist, they are educated in these kind of things.

Therapy helped me deal with my depression and anxiety. Theyll help you get to the bottom of the reason of why you feel this guilt, and help you rise above it.

 

[Seeker]

Some people who suffer from anxiety and anxiety disorders also deal with "false guilt" which can also lead to clinical depression. The only thing I can offer is to seak counseling with a psychotherapist. My son, who is studying medicine and psychotherapy was actually discussing some of this with me recently

 

[snake]

Like Seek said, best to seek professional help on this before it becomes an even bigger issue.

I do get what you're saying though. If you are a perfectionist, you will always feel this way but it's how you deal with it. Just a recent example from yesterday; I'm putting up some back splash in the kitchen. When I'm doing a project, you can't find a soul in my house. The wife and the offspring just have learned to stay away, even the dogs go upstairs. I finished about half of it and called a day. Wife walked in as I was cleaning up and said, "Wow that looks really good!" Right away I started to point out what was wrong and what I was unhappy about.

I did manage to catch myself. Here was my wife paying me a complement and I was not very accepting of that. Plus she was right, short of a professional installer, I would be the only one to even notice. So I took a mental step back and said to myself, "Yeah, that's a good God damn job."

I had a choice, be proud of what I did or beat myself up for some small imperfection. On top of that, I may not have made my wife feel so good because I didn't take the compliment. I chose to walk away feeling good rather than feeling bad. In the end, it's a choice, make the right one or seek help to do so.

 

[creekrat]

My wife has and deals with anxiety that sometimes manifests this way and I cannot wrap my head around it because I don't deal with anxiety like y'all do. The unfortunate thing with mental illnesses is they are very seldom even close to what someone would describe as rational. This doesn't make it any less important of an issue or mean that I don't believe people who deal with it. Like the others have said, seek some professional help from someone that can help you realize when and how it manifests and gives you techniques to divert, control (somewhat) and reduce the occurrences

 

[Gabriel]

I see more women with this type of thing than men..but it's a real thing,no doubt.. I try to do my best most of the time..yes I slip,and fail to please everyone..I am human and not perfect...I realized yrs ago..when I try to please everyone..I loose perspective on everything..

 

[Jin]

Being human means being flawed. I made dozens of mistakes a day and as long as I’m headed in the right direction, dwelling on those things is counterproductive.

Total health involves mind, body and spirit. If you aren’t souled (pun intended) on spirit then consider what makes humans different from animals. Those attributes need to be tended to as well.

You've only been here a short while but it’s obvious that you’re holding yourself to an unhealthy standard. Meaning that most people would be pleased with themselves if they had it together as well as you do (minus the unhealthy relationship you have to being a flawed human).

 

[Koolio]

I suffer from catholic guilt...the nuns would bitch slap us all the time and tell us we we're going to burn in hell for eternity...this started in first grade (1965)...and ended around 8th grade,...it has affected me my entire life...

 

[Jin]

I suffer from catholic guilt...the nuns would bitch slap us all the time and tell us we we're going to burn in hell for eternity...this started in first grade (1965)...and ended around 8th grade,...it has affected me my entire life...

This, unfortunately, is what many people associate with “spirituality”.

Sorry you had to go through that.

 

[Big Mikey]

You need to work through this with a qualified psychotherapist, not a message board full of bros.

 

[Gabriel]

I'm going to say this one thing
It's not the destination
It's the Journey to that end..
And I've had one hella good time on mine..

 

[Deadhead]

Unpopular opinion warning! (If your on cycle high e2 can cause weird mental states like this.)

 

[Jenn_is_Jenning]

Well I'm on nothing and have been like this most of my life LOL.

But thanks to everyone for chiming in

For the record, I'm not depressed. I just never feel like I've done enough to warrant relaxation or satisfaction

 

[Jin]

Well I'm on nothing and have been like this most of my life LOL.

But thanks to everyone for chiming in

For the record, I'm not depressed. I just never feel like I've done enough to warrant relaxation or satisfaction

I’m married to somebody like you. It doesn’t look fun from the outside looking in.

Overachiever/perfectionist puts others well
being over herself to her detriment. And people praise her for these character flaws because they are useful and seen as good things.