What constant guilt means for your mental health (and what to do about it)

Feeling guilty can be a natural response when you realize you’ve done something you shouldn’t have. However, guilt may not always be justified, and sometimes it can have more to do with your mental health than with your behavior. If you’re experiencing a nagging sense of guilt on a regular basis, it might be worth investigating. Exploring the source of your guilt could reveal inner conflicts that you may want to address.

Persistent guilt can be linked to several different mental health conditions. For some people, it may be a symptom of a depressive mood disorder. Also, survivors of disasters or trauma may develop a paradoxical sense of guilt as they try to make sense of their experiences. Any childhood trauma that may have left you feeling guilty or worthless could also lead to an overactive sense of self-blame. Working through these challenging emotions and memories may be easier with help from a mental health professional.

How to recognize maladaptive guilt

Guilt is typically not an enjoyable emotion, but most psychologists acknowledge that it can be necessary at times. The unpleasant feeling of guilt after you’ve wronged someone or neglected your responsibilities may motivate you to do better in the future. Moreover, some mental health professionals believe that the sense of “existential guilt” about neglecting to live up to your potential in life could be an important driver of constructive action. 

On the other hand, an overwhelming or misdirected sense of guilt can leave you feeling paralyzed rather than leading you toward positive change. Excessive guilt may contribute to certain mental health disorders. It could also be a symptom of cognitive distortions that make it hard to assess yourself accurately.

Psychologists use the terms adaptive guilt and maladaptive guilt to distinguish between “natural guilt” from actual wrongdoing, and unhealthy or unjustified guilt. Here are a few signs that what you’re feeling may be maladaptive:

1. You’re feeling guilty all the time. Constant guilt that never seems to fade is unlikely to be adaptive. If nothing you do changes how you feel, then your guilt may not be a reliable indicator of behavior.
2. Your guilt isn’t linked to your actions. Adaptive guilt is usually a result of something you’ve said, done, or failed to do. A vague sense of guilt with no cause that you can identify may be a manifestation of a mental health condition such as anxiety.
3. Your guilt is disproportionate. Even if you do have a reason for feeling guilty, it might not make sense to feel as guilty as you do. If a small mistake or lapse in judgment leaves you feeling tormented with remorse, it might point to a deeper concern.
4. You experience guilt over something that’s out of your control. Could you have done anything to prevent the event that triggered your guilt? If you recognize that the answer is “no,” but you experience a sense of self-blame anyway, it may be a sign that your guilt is unhealthy.
5. Your guilt is leading to inaction. A sign that your guilt may be maladaptive is that it triggers a sense of inadequacy or futility, preventing you from taking steps forward.

What’s causing your constant guilt?

Identifying the true cause of your persistent guilt might be a crucial step toward resolving it. The following can all be causes of maladaptive guilt: 

Depression

This may be linked to a general sense of worthlessness. Depression can involve cognitive distortions that impair self-image, causing you to view yourself in an overly negative light. This might lead you to feel guilt even when it’s unwarranted.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can sometimes have an overactive sense of guilt. The guilt may arise from intrusive negative thoughts involving immoral or socially inappropriate behavior—despite the fact that they have no desire to act on these thoughts. In other cases, the disorder may prompt a person to obsessively revisit past mistakes or transgressions, making it hard to let go of guilty feelings about these events.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Research indicates that feelings of guilt can be a common feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma survivors may believe that they should have done more to prevent what happened to them, or they may have a sense of “survivor’s guilt” about living through an event that claimed the lives of others. Some psychologists think this type of guilt may arise from an attempt to regain a sense of fairness and control. On an emotional level, the idea that a traumatic event was your fault may seem less frightening than the idea that something terrible could happen for no good reason.

Self-blame learned in childhood

For some people, guilt may result from low self-esteem due to extreme negative reinforcement early in life. If your caregivers were overly critical while you were growing up, you may have developed a guilt complex that leads to a compulsion to repeatedly apologize or make amends for something. This type of guilt can also result from internalized belief systems or worldviews that place heavy emphasis on ideas of judgment, guilt, and shame. 

How to let go of constant guilt

Once you’ve realized that your constant feelings of guilt are unwarranted, you may wonder what you can do about the situation. Here are some techniques you can try on your own:

Give voice to your guilt

It can be natural to try to avoid or deny unpleasant feelings, especially those like guilt, which is directed toward ourselves. However, suppressing negative emotions often doesn’t do much to reduce their intensity. Instead of letting your guilt build up inside you, you may be better off expressing it.

Expressions of guilt can take a variety of forms. You could acknowledge your complicated emotions to a trusted friend, write them down in a journal, or express them through some form of artwork. Simply making a statement out loud to yourself might also help. For example, you might say, “I’m dealing with feelings of guilt and working to move forward.”

Think through your guilt

It can sometimes be helpful to examine feelings of guilt rationally. You can try asking yourself questions like:

• Why do I constantly feel guilty?
• What am I feeling guilty about?
• Was that actually my fault?
• Could I have done anything to change things?
• Am I helping anyone by blaming myself?
• Does it make sense to feel this level of guilt?
• Is there another way I can look at my situation?

This approach might sound overly simple, but it may lead to surprising changes in your thought patterns. By shifting your focus from the emotional to the logical part of your mind, you may be able to alleviate the constant guilt.

Make amends

Some people have trouble moving on from past mistakes, resulting in constant guilt that’s out of proportion to what happened. In this situation, it might be helpful to see if you can do something to try to correct the negative effects of your actions or repair any relationships that were damaged. Often, making a sincere apology to someone you hurt can provide a sense of closure and enable you to start thinking about the future instead of ruminating on the past.

Engage in self-compassion

People who are prone to chronic guilt may be inclined to judge themselves more harshly than they would other people. Trying to take someone else’s perspective might help you be gentler with yourself. By reminding yourself that you’re a human being with good and bad qualities—just like everyone else—you may be able to let go of your excessive guilt.

This technique is known as self-compassion, and research has found that it can be an effective way to relieve guilt. One way to get started is by having a dialogue with yourself, imagining how you’d respond to a close friend expressing the kind of guilt you’re feeling. You might think about whether you would criticize them or point out that they’re being too hard on themselves.

Work with a mental health professional

The strategies above can have powerful effects for relieving guilt. Still, you may find that it’s easier to release your maladaptive guilt with therapy. A licensed counselor may be able to help you reframe negative, inaccurate thoughts and rebuild your self-esteem. 

If you feel hesitant to discuss your feelings of guilt with a stranger, you might consider online therapy. Working with a therapist through remote communication methods, such as voice or video chat, may feel less intimidating than attending therapy in person. With remote therapy, you can discuss your challenging emotions in the comfort of your home rather than traveling to a therapist’s office. You can also contact your therapist at any time in between sessions via in-app messaging, and they’ll respond as soon as they can.

Research has repeatedly found that online therapy can produce the same kinds of mental health improvements as in-person treatment. One systematic review found “no difference in effectiveness” between attending therapy online or in person.