(The following is from the publication Gentle Care: Changing the Experience of Alzheimer’s Disease in a Positive Way, Moyra Jones, 1999)
Guilt is…
- Never being able to say no
- Never being able to satisfy the expectations of others
- Never being able to satisfy yourself
- Being angry in a nice way
- Not feeling good about your best efforts
- Being annoyed by others who expect you to be different, better
- Stressful
- Putting off important decisions
- Putting off taking action
- Grief on hold, not examined, put aside
- Expectations out of step with reality
- Never being able to enjoy yourself
- Feeling a failure
- Feeling abused, used, left out
- Narcississtic
- Lonely
- Ugly
I provide this list to clients who are caregivers to promote awareness of how feelings of guilt may be affecting thoughts, mood and behaviour in sometimes surprising ways.
Barb Larkin, M.S.W., RSW 