Escaping Toxic Guilt by Susan Carrell, RN, LPC

Five Proven Steps to Free Yourself from Guilt for Good!

I came across this book while scouring the library shelves for something on topic of dealing with shame. Guilt and shame are close relatives. This book defines guilt as feeling bad about something you've done, and shame as feeling bad about who you are. Hmm... I could relate to that.

Firstly the book distinguishes between good guilt, which reminds us when we've violated one of our own personal values and prompts us to make amends or to act differently next time; and bad guilt, where somebody else's agenda is at work causing us to suffer unnecessarily or to fall under their controlling influence.

In the second section, the author outlines some common guilt-inducing situations, like relationship break-ups, divorces, and dramas over where we will have Christmas or Thanksgiving this year.

Then once you've identified your guilt as unhelpful and recognized the scenario that causes it, the third section outlines a five-step plan for dealing with toxic guilt by speaking your truth, setting boundaries, bracing for resistance from others, going with the new flow, and maintaining boundaries.

I found this book a really interesting read. Toxic guilt isn't something I'm dealing with right now, but I still found the book had some really great points to make about setting boundaries with other people. If you spend more of your time feeling guilty than you'd like, I recommend giving this book a spin.

Escaping Toxic Guilt is available online in Australia atSeekBooks.com.au

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