These are really interesting thoughts on guilt. I don't think it is a bad thing not to feel guilty (at least after one has learned from one's mistake). I don't think morality is necessarily guided by feelings of guilt. I think integrity and morality can have other drivers.

I don't know. It's a good question. And it may be depend on the person. Suratji, do you know why you hold onto guilt?

I tend not to be a very guilty person. I live by my code and try not to do things I regret. There are times I make a mistake, and I do feel guilt initially, but I don't keep tormenting myself by holding onto that. I hope I learn something from the situation and resolve to do better in the future. I have said several times in therapy to my T, "I know that wasn't the best thing to have done, and I'm not proud of it, but I'm not going to keep beating myself up about it." It's like once the lesson is learned, I let go of it. I think for me, it's that I have enough difficult issues in my life without adding to my anxiety/pain/stress by holding moments from the past that I regret. So I just try to do the best I can.

I find shame a lot harder to deal with and to let go. It's like shame is more intrinsic to my being, and guilt is more surface and I can deal with it more easily.

I do agree that helping others, being selfless, volunteering, etc., can help draw one out of oneself and be a good thing. Just the last day or two, I have wondered, though, if I am getting "too much" from helping others (almost a buzz or a high), and this is masking my personal problems and keeping me from working on them. I think it would be healthier for me if there was more of a balance. I have had a long habit of putting others before myself, and I wonder if this is just more of the same... Or maybe it is helping me understand why I do that--there is a lot of positive reinforcement. I am feeling a little uncomfortable about that.