DistantNews
Support us
Always in Debt: The Guilt Trap and How to Escape It
🇦🇷 Argentina /Culture & Society

Always in Debt: The Guilt Trap and How to Escape It

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Guilt is a pervasive emotion in contemporary life, often stemming from unattainable standards rather than actual wrongdoing.
  • Neuroscience shows the brain processes imagined errors as intensely as real ones, with belief systems heavily influencing guilt's intensity.
  • Experts suggest guilt can be a powerful control mechanism, particularly for women, and can manifest as self-sabotage or procrastination.

Guilt, a ubiquitous emotion in modern experience, often arises not from concrete transgressions but from an internal sense of falling short of unattainable standards. This is illustrated by a character in Michael Cunningham's novel "The Hours," who endlessly perfects a birthday cake, symbolizing a life that feels insufficient.

is an introjected resentment that, like a wave, returns upon oneself sanctioning and punishing, not only for what we did wrong but also for what we did not do well.

— Guillermo De ZanThe clinical psychologist defines guilt, explaining its self-punishing nature.

Clinical psychologist Guillermo De Zan defines guilt as an "introjected resentment" that punishes not only wrongdoing but also perceived failures. It can disguise itself as self-sabotage, helplessness, procrastination, or an inability to enjoy life. Neuroscience supports this, with studies indicating that the brain activates guilt-related circuits with equal intensity for real and imagined errors. Charlotte Hartley of University College London noted that a person's belief system about what they "should be and do" regulates guilt's intensity more than the objective severity of an act.

The brain does not distinguish between having done something wrong and believing one could have done it.

— Charlotte HartleyCharlotte Hartley, from University College London, discusses how the brain processes guilt, equating real and imagined errors.

Philosopher Flor Sichel links guilt to control, particularly over women, describing it as a "trap" built on a feeling of lack and the pressure to "manage everything." This inherent impossibility guarantees guilt. De Zan further categorizes guilt into learned (from family expectations), inherited (taking on others' responsibilities), and acquired (from one's own actions). Learned guilt, he argues, is widespread and often unrecognized, such as feeling guilty for pursuing higher education when no family members have done so.

Guilt is one of the most powerful forms of control over women.

— Flor SichelPhilosopher Flor Sichel quotes Adrienne Rich to explain how guilt functions as a control mechanism.

Adrienne Rich's observation that guilt is a powerful form of control underscores the psychological and societal mechanisms at play. The constant pressure to meet external and internal expectations, coupled with the brain's tendency to amplify perceived failures, creates a fertile ground for persistent guilt. Understanding these origins and mechanisms is presented as the first step toward escaping this pervasive emotional trap.

The trap is constructed in advance: it originates in a feeling of lack, in the idea of wanting to be able to do everything as if that were possible.

— Flor SichelSichel elaborates on the nature of the guilt trap, emphasizing the pressure of impossible expectations.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog