Guilt can manifest itself in a way that can leave you feeling depressed and angry. It can bind and control you. The emotional feeling occurs when one feels he or she has violated standards of conduct and bears responsibility for the violation. Seniors can feel guilty about doing or not doing something.
Feeling guilty can help you learn from your mistakes. On the other hand, unhealthy guilt is not very fun especially if you live out of obligation. This is because you can develop fear if you do not do what you think you should do. An elderly may feel guilty if he or she does something out of the box, contrary to what he or she has been brought up to believe or do.
Thus, harboring guilt because of performing something out of your belief may prevent you from nurturing your life in the right direction. Beliefs can guide your behaviors from when you were young to your old age. The habits of thought can be updated and rewritten as you grow older.
Concentrate on letting go of guilt if you want to be happier and age gracefully. Focus on what is good for you instead of what is good for everyone else that you think you must be responsible for.
Identify and acknowledge your guilt
Done ignore or suppress guilt when it rises. The elderly should identify what is making them feel guilty and acknowledge the guilty situation. Allow yourself to feel your true feelings so that you are able to deal with it accordingly.
Identify and change the thoughts behind the guilt
What is making you feel guilty? The thoughts behind your guilt can be very powerful. They can determine how you behave or react towards your guilt. Identifying them can help in replacing them with something you want to focus on.
Remove the negative, self-limiting habits
Remove the behaviors and habits that are causing guilt. The self-limiting habits can be removed by stopping the behaviors associated with guilt.
Feel the void left
A void will be left if you stop the behaviors. Find a healthier ways to fill the void and satisfy the needs that you have.
Embrace reality
You cannot change what is making you feel guilty because it has already happened. Therefore you need to move on as fast as possible but at your own pace.
Love yourself
Love yourself by forgiving yourself and letting go of non-essential and useless guilt.
