Why do we say we "feel guilty"? I find women in particular say it more then men. "Oh, I should have done more", she says on reflection of the event. Feeling guilty achieves nothing. It's just the opportunity for us to beat ourselves up. Do we feel guilty before the event. I'd say no. It is with the clarity of hindsight that allows us to could-have, should-have, would-have. Still, guilt as an emotion, does nothing following the event (perhaps only for criminals seeking shorter sentencing). The fact that we feel guilt (guilt=bad) may mean that we could learn something from this in the future, only if we are smart enough to practice reflection, and not be clouded by our current emotions. I try not to use the word guilty when referring to my or others emotions. Guilt is an emotion we place upon ourselves. No-one can actually make us or force us to feel guilt, unless we ourselves let it happen. I vote it as useless word in my emotional vocabulary (not talking legally, of course). I would like to hear my female friends use the guilt word much less - unless they actually did murder someone!
