Should I still feel guilty?

Hi,

I have a bit of an issue feeling guilty about things I’ve done in the past to hurt friends. I had this one big falling out with my best friend about 5 years ago where it turned out she was really mentally unwell, but cut me off completely for reasons I was not even sure of. I think this same guilt manifests itself in fights I’ve had with friends in the past and it pops up where I’m scared I’ve tainted our relationship even though everything has been forgiven and I’m sure they’re not thinking of it anymore.

Any tips on resolving this?

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

I've been in a similar situation in which a friend of mine who was mentally unwell and who was going through a lot just cut me off; this left me feeling very upset because they'd blatantly ignore me and made me fell as though I had ruined everything. Despite feeling extremely guilty I also harbored a lot of resentment towards him because of how bad he made me feel. In my case, I left the environment we were in together and I was also able to recieve closure after he told me it was not anything I did but something he was going through. We still don't talk but I feel better about the whole situation. Now I obviously I don't know your whole story but I can only give some advice based on what I went through. I'd suggest not overthinking it by yourself, we tend to dramatize situations and blow things out of proportion in our heads and that can be very harmful for us and make us feel guilty for things we need not waste our energy even thinking about. Its always good to learn from past mistakes, yes, but don't let it hold you back from living your life freely, from what I read, I can tell you meant not harm and I'm sure your friends can recognize that too.

Don't fret, you got this!!