Tame Your Guilt Monster with These Coping Strategies

Do you have your own personal Guilt Monster (GM)? You know the type. Maybe your GM is an innocuous fellow. He might hide out in a small corner of your brain, causing little trouble until you stumble across him again. Then, however, he can be like a bee stinger left in your skin. A week or two later, the itching restarts with a vengeance, perhaps long after you thought you were finished with that issue. Alternately, your GM could be plaguing you night and day, a permanent resident of your primary thought patterns, looping through your consciousness with clockwork regularity the way a roller coaster threads constantly over a track filled with highs and lows. Either way, if you want to evict your GM, try these coping strategies. Stay alert for disguises your GM might try. Anxious feelings, ruminations, vague numbness and an upset digestive system could be your GM trying to stay connected. Remind yourself this is a chronic problem (it is if it has gotten to the point of impacting your life) that requires steady work.  Step One: Interview your GM. Take out pencil and paper to write down questions and answers. Questions about the cause and nature of your guilt can help you assess if you are dealing with facts or with fictions your mind is generating. Opinions do not count at this stage. Save them for later when you will be going over your interview again. Feel free to complete interviews over time, asking the same questions and adding new ones to consider. Step Two: Find out what...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Self-Help anxiety Coping Skills Guilt Remorse Rumination Source Type: blogs